About Fake IDs

Identification

• A state issued identification card or driver's license will contain the following security features: a hologram, bar code, digital picture, shadow picture, number code and state insignia.
  Generally, states will also introduce a rare print font to distinguish its identification cards and circumvent forgery.
  Some states use advanced security measures, complex design templates and state-wide police scanners to identify authentic identification cards. Persons found to be in possession of a fraudulent identification or driver's license will be prosecuted according to state law. If that person is also in possession of alcohol, he will be prosecuted for being in possession of a controlled substance.
  Police look for flawed holograms and missing or incorrect codes. A forger would not be able to create these codes because they are only known only by police and a state's motor vehicles department.

Significance

• Fake IDs are not just limited to teenagers wanting to purchase alcohol illegally. In some cases, fake IDs are used to create an alias, change one's legal identification, obtain illegal employment, purchase a handgun, cash fraudulent checks (as part of a larger check cashing operation, in many cases) and create a new identity in a new state. Regardless of the reason, fake IDs grant inappropriate access to services and is illegal.

Expert Insight

• According to Dave Myers of Florida's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, "Fake IDs are getting so good the police actually have to use laboratory equipment to detect them." The widespread availability of copying equipment and computer programs manufactured for the lay forger make it more and more difficult for the police to detect fake IDs, thus making the need for "laboratory equipment" all the more necessary. "The average printer you can buy from Wal-Mart creates a very good quality license," confirmed Myers.

Size

• New Jersey is the number one most forged identification card template made on the black market. The state's simple security features and basic print font, allow counterfeiters to reproduce the ID with little to no effort.
  Other states have used increases in technology to make identification cards more secure. For example, in 1995, Florida implemented a magnetic strip license. Four years later, Maine introduced a bar-coded license. And in 2002, North Carolina popularized color-coded licenses for minors.

Function

• A forger requires a computer scan of her picture, a color printer and a laminator to create a fake ID. If she wants to produce a more authentic looking ID, she can contact a Web company that specialized in fake IDs and request that one be made and sent to her home. Fees generally range from $9.99 to about $150, depending on the state of residence.

Size

• By and large, a large number of fake IDs are used by teenagers wanting to purchase alcohol, although this group is not singularly responsible for the significant number of cases recorded each year. Sgt. Jacques Croom, who supervises the alcohol initiatives unit for the police department in Montgomery County, Maryland, estimates that 50 percent of underage high school and college students have fake IDs.

Potential

• If you are caught with a fake ID and are under the age of 18, you can receive a maximum penalty of 1 year in state prison. The minimum penalty is a fine and/or community service. Drug and alcohol counseling may also be assigned, if a minor is found in possession of alcohol at the time of the arrest.
  Penalties are always dependent upon prior convictions and individual state laws.