<p>How common are they? If you have underage college students, do they have a fake ID?</p>
<p>Very common. Also illegal. Not a good idea.</p>
<p>I was talking to a friend whose kid is in college. I was slightly shocked at the openness of it.</p>
<p>I have a friend whose son, as a HS senior, visited his cousin at the college that he planned to attend. Cousin had a fake ID ready for him when he arrived for the weekend.</p>
<p>It’s very, very common.</p>
<p>Previous lengthy thread on this:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/989552-fake-ids.html?highlight=fake+i[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/989552-fake-ids.html?highlight=fake+i</a></p>
<p>Some places are using electronic card readers that can instantly spot fakes - even if your ID says it is from Alaska.</p>
<p>There are some places that are happy to look the other way and accept any form of ID. Other places are very strict. When I was young, I found that the places that were the least strict were places I really didn’t want to go into.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard of bouncers holding a fake ID hostage until you pay them $50. If you complain, they say they will call the cops.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that it’s worse to use someone else’s ID (that is, pretend you are John Smith who really is 21, and use his ID) than to have a fake ID that is really fake (that is, make up an imaginary Bill Jones and use that ID). Any lawyers want to weigh in?</p>
<p>Apparently, if you’re caught with one, you are exposed to a forgery charge, which is a felony in many states. I’m not sure if the practice is to go easy on the kids with fake ids, but I have seen write-ups about it where the kids are charged with it.</p>
<p>I did some research on this in the previous thread, and unless things have changed, just having a fake ID or using it to get into a bar is not going to be a felony. It can be a felony if you use it for other purposes, like buying a gun. And I have never read any news account of any college student being convicted of a felony for using a fake ID to buy booze.</p>
<p>But this doesn’t mean that the consequences are negligible. It can be bad for your future to be convicted of a misdemeanor or “disorderly conduct” as well. It can be costly if a bouncer just takes that nice ID you just paid $600 to get. It could be very inconvenient to lose your real driver’s license. So at the very least, you should find out what really happens in any place you think you might use a fake ID. Just because nobody cares in your hometown doesn’t mean that nobody will care in your college town, or your friend’s college town.</p>
<p>my roommate had a fake ID. it was some else’s old ID. They’d scan her ID under one of those things to make sure it was real, but they never questioned that it was her or looked too closely at the picture.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl - it’s the other way around. It’s worse to use a fake ID, since Sep '11. By using someone else’s ID could just be a mistake or holding it for someone (left it on your coffee table). D1 never had a fake ID and I wouldn’t advise any college kids to have one.</p>
<p>My friend’s kid was using it in NYC. They are more likely tolerant?</p>
<p>oldfort is correct. As far as fake IDs go simply using your roommates older sister’s is a far lesser offense. Alter an ID or use false information to get an ID that contains incorrect information and you are dealing with the Patriot Act. It doesn’t matter if you agree with it, it is a matter that your kids need to know the difference.</p>
<p>NYC - they are more tolerant if one spends enough money or if you are a regular. At small college towns, like Ithaca, sometimes the local police will crack down harder. We have been to Ithaca when it was no big deal to give D1 a glass of wine at dinner, and there were times when they wanted to do a full check, even with us there.</p>
<p>Here are a couple of recent articles about this:
[Police</a> Seize Thousands Of Fake IDs In Arizona - Campus Chatter](<a href=“http://blogs.abcnews.com/campuschatter/2011/03/police-seize-thousands-of-fake-ids-in-arizona.html]Police”>http://blogs.abcnews.com/campuschatter/2011/03/police-seize-thousands-of-fake-ids-in-arizona.html)
[Sophisticated</a> phony IDs from foreign websites become prevalent - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review](<a href=“http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_751745.html]Sophisticated”>http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_751745.html)
[Crackdown</a> on boozing youths - Local - Lynn News](<a href=“http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/crackdown_on_boozing_youths_1_2967410]Crackdown”>http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/local/crackdown_on_boozing_youths_1_2967410)</p>
<p>It still appears that in many places, the primary consequence for using a fake ID to buy alcohol or to get into a bar is losing the (often expensive) fake ID. But as noted above, the consequences can be greater, and they may increase in the future.</p>
<p>We had a thread not that long ago about a kid who had his room searched (roomie was smoking pot) and a fake ID was found. If I remember, the issue was handled in house/college, but there was a significant fine that had to be paid. </p>
<p>I would advise against having a fake ID. If you need a fake ID to get into someplace, you don’t belong there…</p>
<p>Kind of a funny ID story: When I was about 20, I went with a friend to her home town for the weekend. She wanted to go out, so she gave me her sister’s ID. It so happened that her sister was a nurse. </p>
<p>When we were at the club, some guy asked me to dance, and while we were talking, he asked if I was a nurse. He said I looked like a nurse to him (he had no idea about the ID or the sister). I thought that was pretty odd, since I wasn’t a nurse and no one else in my life has ever said that they thought I looked like one.</p>
<p>It is VERY common. When my kid moved into Penn, every single person on his dorm floor had a fake ID and they were comparing them. The ease of using them varies from place t place. At Penn State, they use the electronic readers and it is very hard to get away with a fake ID and stupid to try. Around Penn, it is easy and no one cares.</p>
<p>In parts of NJ (Ocean County etc) it is a huge money-maker for the local governments. They WILL charge you with a felony. Legal fees are around $5K. You get off with probation and have to do community service and then get your record expunged (more $$). Other areas are similar. Many athletic recruits are sold fake IDs on their recruiting trips. It’s quite a business.</p>
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<p>For broke municipalities, the attraction of capitalizing on the stupity of the young that has too much money and too little common sense is … hard to resist. Getting the IDs should obviously remain easy as this is absolutely needed for the continuing ability to impose and extract lucrative fines.</p>
<p>Does anyone really believe our government cares if someone buys beer at 19 or 20? Or enters into a place of debauchery? If they could make more money on lowering the legal age, they would not hesitate to bring it down to the tween years. The fake IDs business is a godsend for the cities with a high student population.</p>
<p>It is all about the money! Be smart and resist the urge of facilitating the purchase of a fake ID.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard that it’s worse to use someone else’s ID (that is, pretend you are John Smith who really is 21, and use his ID) than to have a fake ID that is really fake (that is, make up an imaginary Bill Jones and use that ID). Any lawyers want to weigh in?”</p>
<p>Using someone else’s ID could expose one to a charge of identity theft. It sounds far fetched, but some jurisdictions are comming down really hard on this because of credit card fraud and illegal immigration. Law Enforcement cannot have a policy of charging illegal immigrants with identity theft for using someone else’s social security card, but look the other way when white, college kids use someone else’s id. You have to be very aware of what the policies of the local police are. I would imigine the police look the other way in most college towns, but I would be very careful in some jurisdictions.</p>