Increased production value of fake ID's becoming problem for college communities

Luke Himmelsbach

A recent trend amongst college students across America is bringing many individuals into trouble with the law, while also putting local businesses reputations and liquor licenses on the line.

Many students are mass purchasing false identification from newer, higher quality online vendors in order to buy alcohol and enter twenty-one plus venues.

While buying fake IDs has always been a very normal thing amongst college students, the way of buying these fakes has changed drastically, and so to has the quality of the ID. As the age of the internet has risen, ID quality has gone up extensively. The new wave of technology has brought about foreign websites that mass produce false identification for multiple different states across the US at an extremely high quality level.

In the past, fake ID production was as simple as placing a picture of yourself over a friends twenty one year old ID and laminating it. Nowadays, these online fake ID companies have gotten so good that many of the fake IDs actually scan on a scanner, making it even harder for small businesses to stay out of trouble.

The fake IDs are most commonly made into states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and more. While many of the ID producers offer mostly North Eastern states, for the right price, someone could buy an ID from any state they chose, in very high quality.

The high quality production of these IDs has made it very difficult for shops and restaurants to determine who is underage when serving alcohol. This problem is especially prevalent in college towns such as Durham, New Hampshire.

One shop owner, Sam Patel, has worked at Campus Convenience for nine years and has noticed the change in ID production and quality.

Patel explained that in the years 2008-2009, fake ID production began changing. While it was still easy to pick up on fakes, students began to get better quality fake IDs during these years. Patel explained that it wasn’t until 2012-2014 that fake IDs started to become almost indistinguishable from the real ones.

Three years later and production continues to excel, producing super high quality IDs that can be in your hands in a few short weeks via mail.

Patel also explained that the number of people getting caught with fake IDs at his shop has just recently gone down in this past year. He believes that it could be thanks to a local bar, Scorpions, whose bouncers are able to spot a fake ID very well. Could it be possible that ‘Scorps’ has taken many of the fakes in circulation, or do alcohol vendors have more difficulty spotting them?

One restaurant in the community of Durham, New Hampshire has previously run into problems with fake IDs and the liquor commission.

Mei Wei, a popular Japanese and Chinese restaurant, was under fire in 2015 after an undercover police officer confiscated multiple fake IDs from the premises. When asked to comment the hostess, who prefered to remain anonymous, said that she and the restaurant did not want to comment on high quality fake IDs or the use of them at their bar. The hostess went on to say that Mei Wei has no tolerance for fake IDs.

A place like Mei Wei that has been previously busted with fake IDs refusing to comment, shows that people do use them and they’re clearly aware of it, but while some bars like Scorps hire bouncers to intimidate, other places like Mei Wei and Campco continue to fight against the new high quality IDs with their judgment and help from ID scanners.

Restaurants and convenience stores aren’t the only ones running into trouble with the law because of this recent trend of very good fake IDs.

One sophomore student at the University of New Hampshire wanted to anonymously share his interaction with Durham police after he purchased alcohol with a fake ID, and was questioned by undercover officers, who upon seeing the fake ticketed the student, and presented him with a court date along with charges.

The student explained that the ticket for a fake ID costs upwards of $500, a very expensive ticket on a student’s budget.

Not only does the student have to pay a fine and go to court, but because this is their second alcohol related offense, they have been charged with a class B misdemeanor; which is the same charge as a first time DUI.

To hire a lawyer and fight this charge would cost upwards of $1200 and the student also faces the possibility of losing their license.

Although the anonymous student is now suffering the consequences, they reluctantly revealed that the ID looked very real, scanned at bars, and was used upwards of three times a week.

This new trend of increasingly scannable and realistic fake IDs is putting both students and business owners in college communities at risk; though as time goes on and quality of these fake I.D.’s going up, it makes many wonder if there will eventually be a completely undetectable fake I.D.