Fake IDs
Today I have found a new arch-nemesis. Her name is Rachel and she works in a bar in New York. I want it to be known that I don’t have anything against Rachel, only what she does, as justified as her actions may be.
Rachel runs a blog basically about fake IDs. Well, it’s not entirely about fake IDs, it’s more of a personal blog and she happens to post scans of fake IDs that she has confiscated and then write a little story about them. The stories are mildly entertaining, but I would prefer them to be a little longer. I was enjoying reading her blog until I realized that one of those kids could have been me.
I’m a very fair person. For instance I find it unacceptable for my younger sister to drink. I’m very protective of her. But once she hits the age that I was when I started drinking, I’ll go out and buy her all the beer she wants. The same thing goes with fake IDs. I got my fake ID my sophomore year of college when I was 18. If anybody else wants to get a fake ID when they’re 18, more power to them.
One thing I should mention about fake IDs is that they are perfectly legal. You are allowed to make them and you are allowed to have them in your possession. I don’t know the details on selling them, but if you’re allowed to make and own them, I don’t see why that would be any different. The illegal part is trying to use a fake ID.
And if you are wondering how I found this out, I was told by a judge at a case about counterfeit money. Apparently it’s also legal to make and possess counterfeit money; it only becomes illegal when you try to use the money.
I suppose, depending on what judge you have, intent could be implied simply by the fact that you have the fake ID (as in, why would you have a fake ID unless you planned to use it?), but the judge that I saw let the counterfeiter off because he was not trying to purchase anything (his friend, who also had counterfeit money, was trying to make the purchase).
Like I said, this Rachel girl works in a bar and confiscates fake IDs. She said she does it so that she won’t be held liable. I guess in New York if you spot a fake ID you have to confiscate it, if you don’t and they use it somewhere else, you can get in trouble for it. Likewise, if you know or think that their ID is fake, you will get in trouble if you serve them. However, if the ID is fake, but the bartender thinks that it is real, they get off the hook.
My ID cost me $105. It was an exact replica of a Virginia Driver’s License. I got it through an extremely shady series of events. One of my roommates was in a fraternity, and he knew a guy that could get fake IDs. We made an appointment with that guy and he came over to our place. A lot of other people found out about this character and also wanted fake IDs, so we had quite the get together for this fake ID party.
He took our pictures, he took down some information, and he took our money, and then he left. About two weeks later we came back to our apartment and there were envelopes with our brand new IDs in them. There were several more rounds of these fake ID parties, and for some reason they took place at our apartment. The IDs kept taking longer and longer to make, and the price started going up and up. The last batch of IDs never made it back to their future owners. The sad thing was that there wasn’t much for them to do, I mean, they were having fake IDs made for them, I don’t think the police are going to be very helpful in helping them recoup their losses from the endeavor.
These IDs were the bee’s knees. They were good enough so that they would scan at the ABC store (which is the state run liquor store in Virginia). It’s pretty ballsy to use an instate fake ID at a state run liquor store, but these were good enough for that. Just as an aside, that barcode on the back simply contains all the information on the front of the ID. When somebody scans it, they just verify what’s on the front of the card, to what popped up from scanning it. They don’t access any sort of database or anything like that. The IDs also worked in DC and Maryland. I would guess that when my ID was new it would have fooled this Rachel girl, although I admit, she is more keen than the average ID checker.
The ID was not perfect, though. After about a year of use the plastic on the front of the ID started to come up. I still kept the ID until I turned 21 and I never had any problems other than a couple of sideways looks.
You may have noticed that I am being somewhat coy in how I refer to the use of my fake ID. Since it’s legal to own a fake ID, I have no problem saying that I had one, and that I do still have that ID, it’s obviously been retired. But, I’m not about to write an admission of guilt about using a fake ID, somehow it doesn’t seem to be the smartest idea to admit to a crime and then publish that admission to the Internet for anybody to see, not that I think any police are reading this blog, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
So, to you Rachel I say this: let the kids have their fun. I don’t want you getting in trouble any more than you do, and I respect the fact that you only take their IDs and don’t get the authorities involved, but why not let a few kids slide? Unless the ID is painfully fake, just let them order a beer. Nobody will be harmed in this situation, you can just say it was such a good fake you thought it was real.
I know I was amazed at the seemingly little change that occurred in me between the age of 18 and 21. It’s not like I’m magically able to drink the second that I turn 21, that I couldn’t handle my alcohol a week before my 21st birthday, but on my 21st birthday, I suddenly am. I understand that state laws say 21 to drink, but I firmly believe if you’re in college, if you’re old enough to vote, if you can be tried as an adult, you should be able to drink.
I mean, I still remember stories my mom would tell me about when she was 16 she would go to a store in DC, where the drinking age was only 18, to buy her beer because they didn’t even bother to check ID there.
Other posts by Justin
June 14th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Wow, a new arch-nemesis? You’ve never even met me. That’s ridiculous. I don’t care about you enough to be an arch-nemesis. How asinine.
I don’t care if kids drink, but I do care about when they endanger me and the bar where I work. In New York, if your bar is found to serve underage drinkers, the bartender is responsible for it, no matter how shitty or perfect the fake ID used may be.
By responsible, I don’t just mean a fine, I mean a year in jail for the barkeep, fines for both the barkeep and the bar, and the bar loses its license. Do you have any concept of how much investment it takes to open and run a bar in Manhattan? Can you conceive the incredible sum of money and work it takes to run a successful bar here?
You claim, “No one will be harmed in this situation”, but my boss could be out hundred of thousands of dollars, and I could lose my job and end up in JAIL. There is a lot of harm in that. Why should I take any risk for some kid out of a sense of nostalgia?
If you’re underage and you can get beer at the liquor store: go drink at a party, go drink in your dorm room. Don’t come to the bar and expect to be served. Certainly not by me.
And if you want to flame me on the internet, don’t be such a pansy, come on down to 7th street.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
First of all, this must be the weakest “flame” ever on the Internet. I didn’t attack you, I understood and respected your viewpoint, and I even complimented you on how you handle these situations, as well your writing, and they weren’t offhanded compliments, they were genuine. I simply offered a different vantage point on the situation. A vantage point that you most likely shared before you turned 21 (a vantage point that most people probably share before they turn 21).
As for the “arch-nemesis” bit, it certainly is ridiculous, and never intended to be read by you. It was merely a literary technique employed to captivate the few people that do read my blog. This is why I clarified that I have nothing against you. It would be ridiculous to have any arch-nemesis, particularly having somebody with whom you’ve never spoken be that arch-nemesis. Although I do find it somewhat ironic that we are engaged in this banter.
As for the trouble you can get in, I clearly said that I didn’t want you or the bar getting in trouble. You’re right; it’s not worth sticking your neck on the line for some kid with a fake ID. But I read the law, or some interpretation of it and it said that you only get in trouble if you knowingly serve somebody that has a fake ID. You’re not at fault if the ID is too good, even to your discerning eye. I merely suggested that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you let somebody by that had a good ID; you can always plead ignorance and get off.
Obviously it would be impossible for me to argue this to your satisfaction because at the core it is illegal, therefore, I won’t try to convince you any more than I already have. But I would like to point out that while there are many laws for our protection out there, not all of them are fair, right, or constitutional, and a lot of them change with the times.
Clearly, I have no clue how much it costs to run a bar in NYC, or any other city, for that matter. It’s not in my interest to know something like that. I do know that majority of start-up restaurants fail, so I can respect the fact that it’s certainly not easy to run one and restaurants don’t have an excess of money to waste on fines.
If I was going to be in New York any time soon (I’ve actually never been) I would make it a point to come and visit, I bet we’d have a nice conversation, and I genuinely mean that.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I need a fake id who makes them
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:46 am
Man, that Rachel girl is a bitch, huh? Not for the fact that she refuses to sell alcohol to minors, thats fine, but for actually taking offense to something written in jest? Thats a bitch if I ever saw, or read, one, and I have, many a one. Lighten up Rach.
April 17th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
brilliant post, thank you for the info - I dont really ever post on these thingy’s but I really dug the post. Please post more usefull stuff like this!