Fake ID Wars

For years, legions of eager-to-drink undergraduates have been at odds with the country's legal drinking age of 21.

Despite UB's proximity to Canada, where the drinking age is just 19, many students instead try their luck at local watering holes. The No. 1 strategy they employ to circumvent age requirements is the use of fake IDs.

This has led to a virtual war between students and bar owners. Students continue looking for the perfect fake license, while bar owners and employees remain vigilant in detecting - and rejecting - them.

"When I was a freshman, my friends were all 21 and they wanted me to come out with them so I borrowed my 23-year-old sister's ID," said Amrapali Soni, a senior majoring in economics. "But when I got to the bar, I somehow managed to show the bouncer my sister's ID and my real ID at the same time. They took my sister's ID and told me to go home."

Using someone else's ID, whether stolen or borrowed, is a popular approach.

Other methods include altering one's own license by bleaching, painting, scratching or chalking it, creating a fraudulent document with computer technology, or purchasing one from a professional counterfeiter.

Michael Lacari, a junior English major, tried buying a forged ID card. The result was dismal.

"I went to New York City with some friends for a concert and ended up trying to buy a fake ID from a guy on the street. Let's just say I ended up with no money and no ID because the guy ripped us off," he said.

Thousands of Internet companies offer software and kits to manufacture false identification, or sell custom made fake IDs. Prices online for a phony state license range from about $20 to almost $300. The companies selling the most expensive IDs claim to have the most authentic-looking product. They boast holograms, legitimate barcodes and imbedded microchips, and claim their ID is as good as the real thing.

Indeed, fake IDs - and their detection - are big business. Several companies have developed technology to foil even the highest quality forgeries, and liquor-vending establishments are snapping them up.

In the case of the companies that manufacture fake IDs to get underage drinkers into bars, and the bar owners who get accosted for serving alcohol to minors, one man's profit is another man's punishment.

Bar owners say keeping underage drinkers out is a matter of survival. The police have raided many clubs and bars that accept fake IDs. Those that are caught, like PJ Bottoms recently, can face serious penalties. Bartenders can be arrested, imprisoned and fined up to $1,000, according to New York State law. Owners can also lose their liquor license.

"We can't take a chance with a young crowd because we'd lose our older crowd. So we don't let the young ones in unless they have a legitimate ID that says they are over 21," said Patricia, a bartender at the Migs Classic Roxx Caf?(c) located on Walden Avenue.

Though vendors and merchants are urged to turn fake IDs in to the police - as is the custom with many bars on Chippewa - Classic Roxx does not. "If we see a fake ID, we throw it in the garbage. If the ID belongs to someone else, we put it in the mailbox," she said.

According to John Grela, director of public safety at UB, several students have been cited for trying to pass chalked licenses on campus.

"If we find out that they're using an altered license, we can cite them for violating the vehicle and traffic law and we send them to the Student-Wide Judiciary," he said.

Grela said students caught off campus could face outside penalties.

"If the person is caught inside the club using a fake ID, they can be cited for violating the Alcohol Beverage Control Act of New York State," he said. According to Grela, the first citation is punishable by a $50 fine. Any violation after that can cost up to $250.

With all of these systems in place to curb underage drinking, some students have decided it is easier to simply yield to the law.

"I don't have a fake ID but I think it's not really worth it to have to try so hard to get into a club that is 21 and over. I think I'll just wait until I turn 21 so I can enjoy it legally," said sophomore biomedical sciences major Rachel Rafferty.