As vibrant as New York City is, there is an issue it is struggling with deep at its core; fake identification among the minors. This has become the thorn in the flesh of the NY authorities who have decided to start crackdowns of these fraudulent IDs. In the past 2 decades, the issue was not rampant but after the millennial age was welcomed, things seemed to be taking a different route that is destroying the lives of many college students.
New York and the Fakes
This is not a new phenomenon in this digital age where it has become like the necessity of every minor who want to gain access to a pub and have some good time. NY is known to be a city of party parties and clubbing; this is exactly what many high school and college students want especially during weekends.
Estimates have shown that 75% of students have fakes identification cards with them that enable them to gain access to various social scenes which mostly tend to be clubhouses and bars. Most students who are under 21 say they got their IDs within the first weeks of being in school. This gained them access to the nightlife of the dazzling city.
You may never go for an out at night with your friends if you don’t have an ID and that means loneliness on weekends and blockage from great parties. Of course, no college student wants to miss a class bash or a birthday party of their friends. That’s why many students choose to fall for fraudulent IDs.
Many New Yorkers know the roots where these fake ID cards are made. Some students make them in their dorms and sell to the other students from $40-$100. All they need is a laminator, ink, photographic equipment, and a template.
All of these can be easily bought online. As a matter of fact, the New York State Liquor Authority agreed that these homemade fakes have increased in their quality making it hard for them to be recognized easily. These makers will also use chalk and the eyeliner pencil to make a 19-year old look 22. But the bar bouncers have known this trick.
Most minors in NYC are lucky that most of the bar owners and bouncers are kind and generous in that they don’t confiscate the fake ID cards. There are bars that are specifically known to the students that a minor can be allowed to drink and club.
The Main Reason for Fakes
There is a big connection between the United States drinking laws with the emergence of this huge fakes market. New York fake ID racket has been going on for years and even if the authorities are trying to counter it, the situation seems to be more serious.
A century ago, ID card was not an issue but as digitalization and civilization set in, the need for specific identification. Later the restrictions for drinking age emerged which was set to be 18 only later to be changed to be 21; reason, being that many youngsters were causing accidents while drunk. And this was the beginning of making fake IDs.
Although there are consequences of dealing with a fake ID, many people no longer care about jail terms; all they need is to have a New York fake ID. There are various online companies that specialize in making these fakes at as low as $100. They use the best designs, printing, graphics features, various card functions, and ultraviolet printing properties.
All this make the ID card to be just like the genuine. In the crackdown against these fakes, NY authorities use electronic gadgets to determine whether the ID is fake or original. If you must get a New York fake ID then go for the one that has been made by professionals in town instead of importing.
Import of Fakes from China
China has been noted to be one of the main sources of fake IDs in NY. The quality of the IDs is excellent that even experts get confused. The import of these IDs is a thing that has raised eye blows of customs authorities that are conducting crackdowns of them. Between 2013 and 2014, 4,585 fakes were confiscated at Kennedy International Airport and most of them were from China.
There has been a call for the United States Department of Homeland Security to work closely with the Chinese government to stop the import of the fakes. Most bar bouncers and owners have become vigilant; and since they have seen all kinds of fakes, they can easily recognize a fake one.
Consequences of Using Fake IDs
College students and other underage youths are the reason why the authority has strengthened their sweep to various bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and liquors outlets that have liquor licenses to help them halt illegal sale of alcohol to minors who use New York fake ID cards. So here are some of the resolutions of the intensified crackdown in NY City.
- Any student caught buying alcohol using fakes will be arrested
- The club or the liquor store will lose its license for a year or more
- Any business selling alcohol to the underage will be fined with over $10,000
- Any business that repeats selling to minors alcohol even after the warning will have their licenses confiscated and revoked
- Students may be suspended from the school for sometime
Conclusion
The Liquor Authority is closely working with the local law enforcers of the NY City and the DMV to ensure underage sales are significantly reduced. Although the prosecutions have increased by 50% from 2010, the Liquor Authority is determined to bring to book all law violators and underage drinkers using New York fake ID cards.
