EDITOR’S NOTE: Students with fake IDs in this story are referred to on a first-name basis to protect their privacy.
Ohio University sophomore Riean waited for her fake ID that she ordered from www.noveltyidmaker.com to come in the mail for weeks. When it never came, she checked the site only to find it no longer existed. After realizing she had been scammed, Riean resorted to changing the age on her ID with a Sharpie permanent marker.
Underage college students have used fake IDs to make their weekends more eventful for years.
Adam, an Ohio University junior, used to be in the business of making fakes, but dropped it when the work became too time consuming and risky. Adam started making IDs during his senior year in high school with a friend.
Adam said that to make IDs, most sellers buy confiscated IDs from bouncers. After scanning a picture of the ID into a computer, a seller then scrapes off the front of the real ID and keeps the original back so it would still have a barcode to scan. The seller uses a computer-editing program, like Adobe Photoshop, to change the ID front to fit that of the buyer, with his or her picture and information. Signatures can be forged by drawing them right on the computer.
Adam said that people who are more experienced at making them usually use a template that’s already set up on their computer.
Ken, an OU sophomore, said that he made his own ID on his home computer. He said it’s not legitimate, and the only reason places take it is because he has a second form of identification. “My mom helped me make it,” he added.
The legal risks of selling IDs made Adam think twice about the business. Adam made IDs mostly for his friends during his freshman year of college because none of them were of age, he said. His friend was arrested for having a fake ID at Palmerfest in 2005, and the police wanted to find out who had made it. After that, Adam quit making them. He said that he wasn’t doing it long enough for him to make a lot of money, and the benefits weren’t worth the risk of doing time in jail.
Charges for false identification are a serious crime. The charge for selling or distributing a forged ID is a misdemeanor of the first degree, said Athens City Prosecutor Lisa Eliason. According to the Ohio Revised Code, a misdemeanor of the first degree is punishable by up to 180 days in county jail and a $1,000 fine. A person can also be punished with the same penalty if they are caught in possession of or displaying an ID that is known to be fake, or if a person lends an ID to someone who is not the rightful owner, Eliason said.
It is considered a felony if a person were to go to the DMV or BMV and pose as a different person to obtain an ID with his or her own picture but the other person’s information. According to the Ohio Revised Code, the crime is punishable by six to 12 months in state prison and a $2,500 fine, Eliason said.
Riean said her two best friends posed as their siblings at the DMV and used their siblings’ birth certificates.
Many students beg their older siblings or friends for expired IDs.
Junior OU student Amy said that after losing her first fake ID somewhere uptown, she now resorts to using her 21-year-old roommate’s expired ID.
Kim, a sophomore, is waiting for her cousin’s ID, which expired last week when she turned 21.
General manager Nicole Iker at Skipper’s Bar and Grille, 22 W. Union St., said her establishment does not accept expired IDs.
The manager at Pawpurr’s Bar, 37 N. Court St., Matt Lawson, and bartender Jodi Coyne at Lucky’s Sports Tavern, 11 N. Court St., both said their bars do not accept expired IDs.
Athens Police Department Records/Investigations Department could not provide figures for the number of charges related to false identification.
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