| Sophisticated fake IDs now rampant around University of Tennessee-Knoxville |
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Posted: Monday, August 6, 2012 10:00 pm
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KNOXVILLE (AP) — High quality fake drivers licenses have become so prevalent around the University of Tennessee Knoxville that some bars near campus have started asking for two kinds of identification.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/QUn1jh) the fake licenses are often made overseas and bought on the Internet. The sophisticated forgeries can contain digital watermarks and working bar codes.
Trevor Hill, owner of The Hill bar, said his establishment does not even except Florida drivers licenses as a form of identification because there are so many fakes.
“I’ve seen trained law enforcement officers look at them and not spot the difference,” Hill said. “We’ve gotten them from different states and from 12 or 14 countries. It’s rampant on campus. My collection right now’s right around 300, and that’s not counting what we’ve turned over to the police. I’d say we’ll take up several hundred more in the first month of school.”
Hill said Knoxville Police cited 10 underage drinkers at his bar last year, earning him a $15,000 fine from the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
He appealed the fine and it was ultimately dropped after ABC officials reviewed the fake licenses.
“These IDs were so good, you and I couldn’t tell the difference,” said Keith Bell, assistant director of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. “I’m not making excuses for the bars, but in this case, they had everything proper in place.
“Do you penalize the business for somebody else’s crime?”
ID Chief is a leading provider of the licenses and operates using a website based in the Philippines. The IDs are sold by the pair “in case you lose one,” according to the site. One pair costs $200 but there are discounts for 10 or more pairs.
“It seems like it explodes during the school year,” said Knoxville Police Department Sgt. Tracy Hunter, who oversees city beer inspections. “The amount of these IDs out there is unbelievable. About every bar check we’ve done, we find at least one. If I had to guess, one or two out of every five kids usually has one of these fake IDs.” Published in The Messenger 8.6.12 |
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