Although some bars on Hillsborough Street report coming across a relatively low number of fake IDs on a regular basis, underage college students continue to report using fake IDs at locations near campus as well as finding new and more effective ways of obtaining them.
Nevertheless, new apps such as the app barZapp have begun to help alcohol-serving establishments catch fake IDs more quickly. The app allows the user to see if an ID belongs to someone underage, if it is expired or invalid by taking a picture of the barcode, according to CNN.
In recent years, more underage drinkers are turning to websites that allow students to order legitimate-looking IDs with a false birthdate. Many of these online-order fake IDs are custom-made with a genuine headshot, holographic details and pass scan tests, making them much harder for alcohol retailers to detect as illegitimate.
Competitive fake ID online retailers will provide two copies of a holographic, scanning ID that costs anywhere from about $50 to $300, depending on how many people are included in the order. Ordering in a group typically lowers the price of the individual IDs.
A female NC State student who spoke on the grounds of anonymity admitted to having a fake ID that she ordered from a custom ID-making website.
The student said she has used the ID on Hillsborough Street at The Alley as well as The Loft Bar and Lounge and admitted that the experience was relatively easy.
“It’s a really good ID, so I think that the people just didn’t know it was fake when they were checking it,” she said. “They were checking the dates and pictures closely on every ID.”
The student added that most of the other students she knows with fake IDs have ones of similar quality with their real picture on it.
“These are the IDs that work on Hillsborough Street,” she said.
Trevor Dunn, a junior studying business administration, works as a bartender at The Alley. Dunn said the combined bowling alley and bar only occasionally sees fake IDs, particularly on Wednesdays when the venue has popular drink specials.
Josh Adler, a senior studying psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill who has been bartending at McDaids Irish Restaurant & Pub since September, said he hasn’t seen many fakes in his time working at the pub.
“I’ve seen a couple, but we have door guys that we hire for every night that usually catch the fakes first,” Adler said.
Although fake IDs are often difficult to detect, Danny Olson, a sophomore studying mechanical engineering, said he is surprised by the seemingly low numbers of fake IDs bars are reporting to detect.
“I feel like they’re not confiscating more because they would lose business if they were stricter on accepting IDs,” Olson said.
Olson suspects another possible reason bars don’t pick up on more fake IDs, particularly those on Hillsborough Street: Other places that serve alcohol may be less knowledgeable about what fake IDs look like.
“I know a good amount of people with fake IDs, and some of them use their IDs on Hillsborough Street,” Olson said. “Most of the people I know with fakes go to grocery stores instead to buy alcohol.”
Both The Alley and McDaids respond to fake IDs in the same way, according to Dunn and Adler. The bars confiscate the ID, and the person attempting to use it is asked to leave the establishment.
In 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed, effectively raising the minimum drinking age from 18 to 21 years old. Following this legislation, the use of fake IDs became more prevalent in the United States according to The New York Times.
Since this change, state governments have taken steps to make IDs harder to forge. In many states, drivers’ licenses now contain holograms, background images and bar codes that can be scanned at gas stations and grocery stores.
The way most bars and restaurants check an ID for legitimacy hasn’t changed for as long as fake IDs have been around; however, with the help of technology, that may soon be changing.
What seems to be a victimless crime, using a fake ID can have more serious consequences than the loss of the ID. These consequences can affect both the bartender and the business itself.
“If we get caught serving underage people both the bar and the bartender can get a hefty fine,” Alder said. “The bar can also lose its liquor license.”
The bartender and business aren’t the only parties with the possibility of getting in trouble. If prosecuted, the user of the ID can be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony charge if the ID once legally belonged to someone else.
