Fake IDs rampant among teen-agers

posted February 2, 2004

by Heather Richels of Campanile

"If you are caught with a fake ID the penalty is a minimum $250 fine and/or 24-32 hours of community service, or a maximum $1000 fine and/or six months in the county jail. Plus...a one-year suspension of your driver's license."

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control talks a big game. The above consequences, posted on their official website, are enough to intimidate any high school student considering buying a fake ID. However, Palo Alto High School students call the ABC's bluff every time they throw their fakes down on liquor store counters.

"I know of people with fake IDs and none of them are really worried about getting caught," senior Jossy Tseng said. "If their fake ID isn't good, they just go to shady places to buy alcohol. Most of them think the worst that can happen is they will just get their ID taken away."

Based on anecdotal evidence, they don't seem to have much to worry about. Dan, a student at San Jose State, walked into a liquor store to buy alcohol soon before his 21st birthday. For practical purposes, he kept his fake ID behind his real one inside his wallet. When the cashier asked for ID, Dan reached into his wallet and threw his card down on the counter. Unfortunately, he didn't realize he had pulled out his actual license. The cashier looked at him for a moment. "You handed me the wrong one," he said eventually, and then let Dan go.

"Sometimes the guys in the store ask how college is coming along to try to catch you," said a 2003 Paly graduate who asked not to be named. "One moron asked if it was real. Come on, what do you expect someone to say? ‘No it's fake, I'm sorry.'" Some students who have become acquainted with the liquor store clerks don't even need to make up stories or tell lies. "The guy at the liquor store knows me and says hi to me, so he doesn't even card me anymore," said a current Paly student who asked not to be named. "The first few times that I showed him my fake ID, he looked a little skeptical, but since I go there a lot, I think he just appreciates the business."

While the threat of losing a driver's licenses may seem small to fake ID users, the penalty for making fake IDs is a little more stringent; it is considered a felony. There are many options for obtaining fake IDs to the student who asks around.

"I got mine in San Francisco," said the 2003 Paly graduate. People walk by and whisper ‘fake ID?' and then they take you to the people who make them."

Others benefit from having older siblings who are willing to aid in the quest for alcohol.

"My older brother is going to give me his fake ID when he turns 21 in July," said a Paly junior, who wished to be unnamed. Numerous websites have sprung up that allow people to create their own fake IDs, and then send them in the mail. There is the risk of errors, though, and it's harder to contact website owners than personal acquaintances.

"My friend bought some online and they sucked," said Mike, a junior at the University of Arizona. "They had a cloud background and just the state name on top. When he got them in the mail he just threw them all away and told everyone that they didn't come." Another of Mike's friends bought a fake ID through a friend of a friend.

"It was a 100 percent perfect fake California ID," Mike said. "It had all the info and stuff, and he got it in the mail and it was flawless. But then right before he went to go buy booze, he noticed it said he was a female."

Fake IDs won't become obsolete on the Paly campus until students either fear the consequences of using them or oppose them on their own moral grounds. Many students see the widespread use of fake IDs as a backlash to an unreasonable drinking age.

"I don't think they [fake IDs] are immoral," senior Jamie Wilson said. "In fact, I think drinking laws in this country are stupid. They discourage learning to drink responsibly."

A senior girl who asked not to be named agreed. "I don't have one, but I definitely think if you are 18 or older, having a fake ID isn't a big deal. You can be charged as an adult so you should be treated like an adult."

Other Paly students agree. Senior Andy Livingston said, "Though it may be illegal [to have a fake ID], it is in no way immoral, the use should thus be condoned."