ABs' autographs altered to beat fraudsters

All Blacks are among the latest sports stars to create tailor-made autographs for fans as a measure to prevent identity fraud.

New Zealand Rugby Players Association boss Rob Nichol revealed it was common practice as officials from other sports also moved to protect their brightest stars from would-be impersonators.

"The guys [All Blacks] will sign signatures [for fans] every day, all the time," Mr Nichol told the Sunday News.

"So their signatures are probably more in the public domain than a lot of people. That is the same for high-profile athletes.

"Quite a lot have a couple of different signatures. They may sign their full name for official documentation and another signature which might be more tailored towards what the fans would like."

Mr Nichol said management had also joined NRL officials and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association in educating players about the dangers of revealing too much about themselves on networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Dummy social networking accounts have been set up by people claiming to be the players. All Blacks midfielder Luke McAlister was the subject of a sting last year.

Cory Jane and Neemia Tialata also got offside with team management after revealing test team selections on Twitter before they were made public.

- NZPA