A few years ago, fake ID production in Oxford was isolated to residence hall rooms and off-campus houses. However, trends in fake ID culture have shifted in recent years, moving production overseas and increasing the quality of fake IDs accessible to Miami University students.
Regan Sparks, a senior pathology major, started working as a bouncer at Bar 1868 last October. Sparks said she remembers the fake IDs her friends had their first year as flimsy, with the lamination often peeling off.
On a busy night, Sparks said she comes across five to 15 fake IDs in a two-hour shift. Out of all the fakes she comes across, she said she only sees around one low-quality fake ID every other week.
“I rely a lot on just how people carry themselves and what they're acting like,” Sparks said, “but I've noticed that [recognizing fake IDs now] is really challenging.”
These new fake IDs are made with the same materials and machines that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles uses. They have holograms and engravings and are made with polycarbonate; some even work with ID scanners.
*Daniel, a mechanical engineering major, started selling fake IDs in October because it was an easy way for him to make good money fast. Daniel said the company he gets the fake IDs from online is based in China. The company charges around $35 per ID, which he then resold through word of mouth for $80 – turning a large profit.
Daniel said in the last five months, he’s sold roughly 60 to 70 fakes. Now, because he has been such a consistent, reliable customer of the Chinese company, he gets the IDs for free. This is a common marketing tactic companies use to push out a product faster.
“I don't really work for [the company],” Daniel said. “It's like a resale thing, so I get it for free. If I want one, I can just ask for one.”
When it comes to bars trying to mitigate underage drinkers, some bars, like Bar 1868, choose to rely solely on their bouncers and bartenders’ in-house training to recognize fakes. Others, like the 21-and-up Lounge at Calendula, use a fake ID scanner on all their customers’ IDs.
Of the 21 percent of college students who admitted to having a fake ID, over one in four reported getting caught, according to a 2010 study by the University of Missouri and the Midwest Alcoholism Research Center.
However, Oxford Police Chief John Jones said these commercial scanners are not a surefire way to rule out if an ID is real or not, and Daniel confirmed that his fake IDs work on commercial scanners.
“The quality of IDs have improved over time, and there's always going to be new technology to overcome whatever steps we're taking,” Jones said. “In anything, you have to keep up with it, and with those companies that make the scanners, that's part of their software updates, is looking at the security features that are built into each state's ID cards and trying to overcome that.”
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In the last couple of months, the company Daniel orders IDs from has started offering fake IDs made with polycarbonate, the same material used for real IDs.
“The place I go through they [offer] the polycarbonate to the most popular states,” Daniel said. “You can’t get polycarbonate in, like, Indiana, but you can get polycarbonate in Florida and California, the most popular states nationwide.”
Sparks said that it’s best for her and the bar to turn away anyone with an ID she suspects is fake and avoid liability. She even almost accidentally turned away someone with a real ID, but didn’t when they showed alternative proof that they were above 21.
“It's probably better to be on the safe side than sorry, right?” Sparks said. “So [the owner] reinforces, especially when you're first starting, asking a manager, but it's honestly just kind of your best judgment.”
Jones said the only true way to know for sure if an ID is real or not is by running its information through the state's database. Still, he said it’s good for bars to use scanners.
“I believe it’s a good part of a comprehensive plan that you have to improve safety in your establishment,” Jones said. “We’re using technology more in the police world, but you've got to combine that with good police work and good employees who know how to ask the right questions and how to react to the right thing. So it can’t just be the technology alone.”
Daniel said that business has been slowing down recently, but he expects things to pick up again next semester when the class of ’29 arrives on campus.
*Name changed to protect source from legal or employment ramifications.
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