Fake i.d.s without the fuss

Imagine waking up one morning with a new identity. This probably sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, but it is closer to reality than one might think. The Internet makes it almost effortless to obtain a fake i.d., whether it’s a driver’s license, a security badge or even a green card. Just Google the words “fake i.d.s” and watch how many Web sites come up that allow online surfers to either learn about or create a coveted piece of identification. The number is mind-boggling n more than 200,000. Many of these sites offer multiple forms of i.d. For example, anyone can log onto www.theidshop.com and choose from state i.d. cards, passports or custom i.d.s, such as company or special event badges. On this site, it is simple to get a new identity for less than $200 — $100 for a state i.d., $30 for a hologram and $20 for rushed shipping. Technology today also makes it easy to create a fake i.d. at home. Tech-savvy individuals could either download a template from the Web and edit it in Adobe Photoshop or design their own templates. Since most i.d.s today are made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the forged i.d. would then be printed on a Fargo or Electron printer with a synthetic product called teslin and laminated if necessary. There are even ways to create holograms at home with a stencil product called PhotoEZ. The only problem with this process is that it can be very expensive n about $1,000 for the printer, $50 for a sheet of teslin and $40 for a PhotoEZ starter kit. According to Sgt. Allen Faust of the Goshen Police Department, technological advances make it simple for teenagers to create a new and more mature identity. “I’m sure these kids in college with computers can make [fake i.d.s] as good as ones you get from the DMV,” he said. However, Faust noted, driver’s licenses are harder to forge today since they have more security features such as holograms. “In the old days, they used to chalk them, change the numbers around like making a nine a three,” he said. “But the new ones are definitely harder to do that stuff to.” Although i.d.s today are harder to chalk, it is still being done. Kaitlin Gallo, a 19-year-old from Warwick, N.Y., said many teenagers are using this process to change the year they were born. But computers are not the only outlet for fake i.d.s. Gallo pointed out that she knows many people under the legal drinking age who buy their fraudulent i.d.s in New York City. She said they are very easy to get and usually cost between $75 and $100. Paying this much for a new identity could be expensive for teenagers, but not if it gets them into a club or rave, which Gallo said is common in New York and New Jersey. Fake i.d.s are usually reliable, according to Gallo. However, people are caught with them from time to time. The bar manager at Third Base Pub in Branchville, who wished to remain anonymous, said she and her coworkers confiscate about three fake i.d.s a month. “We confiscate it so they can’t go to the next bar and try to use it,” said the Third Base employee. “They’re not served.” The consequences are more severe when the police are involved. According to William McElrath, chief of police at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, there are serious charges for those who sell and possess false i.d.s. Those caught selling these documents can be charged with a second degree crime, and those in possession of a false document can be charged with a third degree crime. He noted that students caught with a fake i.d. can be arrested and charged, as well as have university sanctions placed against them. “These are significant offenses with significant penalties attached,” said McElrath. According to Orange County District Attorney Frank Phillips, someone caught with a fake i.d. for underage drinking would most likely be charged with a misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in jail. But he stressed that the county also tries to educate teenagers. “We’re not just in the put ’em in jail business,” said Phillips. “We also try to educate and change behavior, which can be very difficult because there’s a lot of peer pressure on underage individuals. We try that route, and if that’s not effective then we go ahead and prosecute people.” If someone is caught using a forged credit card or check n which Phillips said is common at Woodbury Common, the Galleria at Crystal Run and Newburgh Mall n the individual would be charged with a felony. Sentences range from a probation of up to five years to seven years in prison. “It’s a very serious crime,” said Phillips. “There’s a difference between writing a bad check when you’re overdrawn on your account and using somebody else’s identification.” Faust noted that those who use a false international driver’s license would only receive a traffic ticket when falsity of the i.d. is not intentional. He pointed to the local migrant workers as an example. Many of them see newspaper ads in their home country for driver’s licenses, pay someone $200 for them and come to the United States believing they are valid. “Sometimes their heart is in the right place, thinking that they are doing the right thing and, of course, they’re not,” said Faust. But driving with a fraudulent inspection sticker n which many of the migrant workers do, according to Faust n is another story. This type of violation would lead to an arrest. There are various ways to tell if an i.d. is illegitimate. One way is to swipe the card through a device that would determine if birth dates have been altered. Phillips pointed out that Orange County partnered last year with Dana Distributors Inc., an alcoholic beverages wholesaler in Goshen, N.Y., with a goal to provide all of Dana’s customers with these machines. According to Faust, Anheuser-Busch also gives the Goshen police a book each year that describes what the driver’s licenses from each state should look like. Many bars are also equipped with a similar book. Phillips added that the police often conduct sting operations in which teenagers go undercover to buy alcohol. If the clerks don’t ask for i.d., they could be arrested and lose their liquor license. “It’s pretty ugly,” he said. “But it’s part of the whole process to make sure that this doesn’t happen more frequently. We can’t stop it, but we try our best to reduce it.”