News Media Testing Authenticity Of Fake IDs Sold Online

 

Realizing how easy it is to buy fake driver's licenses online, several TV news outlets have begun testing how good these fake ids purchased online are too the real thing. 

 

Bars, nightclubs and liquor stores are all being inundated with fake ids, mostly purchased from online websites. Fake driver's licenses purchased from online fake id websites are becoming as sophisticated as the real driver licenses issued by the state governments. These online fake ids are so good they are fooling bouncers, liquors store owners, financial institutions and even law enforcement. 

 

"Many of these fake ids being sold online are passing even the scanner used by law enforcement. I'm sure that many fake ids presented to me have past my inspection both visual and with the scanner. And the fact that these fake ids are being presented to law enforcement show the confidence of the user that these fake ids are most often flawless," Russert police officer Sgt Barry Kern said. 

 

The situation is now so common that channel 4 news initiated a test of these fake ids being sold online as novelty ids. The IDs tested were mostly obtained from nightclub owners, bouncers and law enforcement over the past few weeks alone. Most were confiscated around local colleges. 

 

After testing more than 100 confiscated fake id with a scanning device commonly used by these same individuals, these were the results:

 

Nearly half the fake ids tested didn't pass the scanning test. Another dozen didn't even pass the visual tests, buy a few did pass the scanner test. However, the remaining 40 or so did pass both the visual test and the scanner test.

 

Law enforcement knows where the fake ids are coming from. Mainly from online websites selling fake driver's licenses as novelty ids. More specifically, it's just a handful of websites out of the numerous websites selling fake ids that are supplying the overwhelming volume of counterfeit ids. Many of the sites are just ripping people off, but the sites that do deliver what they promise, deliver an exceptional product. 

 

"If you know which online sellers of fake id are actually selling a genuine counterfeit driver's license, you can be certain that you will receive just that. They key for a buyer is to avoid the scam websites, which far outnumber the real ones," said channel 4 reporter, Ben Green. 

 

When a genuine seller of fake ids online is discovered, word spreads quickly both online and word of mouth on the streets and in schools. Many fake id websites have forums that are dedicated to discussing fake driver licenses. The dark web hosts many of these fake id forums including the more notorious IDCardguys.com.

 

These fake id websites at some do eventually get shut down, but like mushrooms they sprout-up overnight using a different name. They fake ids are manufactured and mailed offshore and they thrive in the world of the internet.