Students who use fake IDs could face fines, jail time
It's a slow Tuesday afternoon at The Bird Bar and Grill in downtown Mount Pleasant.
Manager Ben Breidenstein stands behind the counter, making small talk with patrons who are sitting at the bar. He's been at this for 14 years: he serves drinks, gets to know people and if someone asking for a drink looks younger than 21, he asks for their identification before serving them.
That day, he had no problems.
"Usually we'll only take between five to six IDs in a month at most," he said, pausing to wipe down the counter. "One (Saturday) a few (weeks) ago, we took five or six IDs just that night."
An exact number of false or fake IDs taken at The Bird is unknown, Breidenstein said. He throws them away soon after confiscating them. He estimates the bar takes in around 100 fake or false IDs in a year.
On the look out
The bar has seen an increase in minors, mostly students, trying to pass off false IDs as their own. A false ID usually comes from a friend or a relative who is older than 21 and physically resembles the minor, he said.
A false ID is still a real ID, so it swipes and scans through card readers just like any other card would. Unless a bartender looks at the ID closely, it can be hard to tell if the person in the picture is the person standing in front of him, Breidenstein said.
"Anyone who looks somewhat similar to (the minor), they can just borrow an ID from them — a brother, a sister, a roommate," he said. "Because of this we really look for if you know eye color, height, your address (listed on the ID). Just really basic stuff you should know if the ID is yours."
Breidenstein said if he has trouble scanning the card, he'll try to ask for anything from a library card to a credit card to see if the names match up. If a person can't prove the ID belongs to them, then Breidenstein knows it's false.
"Technology, the way that it is these days, it's getting easier and easier for students to acquire out-of-state IDs. They'll find some guy who can make them for $50 or something, but you can see a lot of inconsistencies with those (IDs)," Breidenstein said. "You really just have to look if the seals (on the ID) are right or if (a) letter on the (ID) is uppercase when it should have been lowercase. There's lots of little tricks like that. Every state is different."
In the middle of talking about spotting fake and false IDs, Breidenstein walks away from the bar. He comes back with two thick books, which he's pulled from under the cash register.
One of them is filled with a picture of every state license in the U.S. The other is an even thicker book with pictures of ID cards from more than 100 countries, to accommodate international students who come to the bar.
Breidenstein said the bar buys a new state ID book every year.
If a minor is caught using a fake ID, one of two things happens: either Breidenstein takes the card and the minor can leave, or if they continue to insist the card is legitimate, Breidenstein calls the police.
Consequences of getting caught
Mount Pleasant Police Officer Jeff Browne said the department doesn't respond to many fake ID calls.
"Most of the time, (fake or false ID) incidents are dealt with by the owner (of the bar)," he said. "The way (the police) get involved is when people at the bar try to push it or won't leave. Usually when people say the cops are coming, (the people with fakes) leave when they realize they can get out of this without getting the police involved."
Fines and costs associated with being caught using a fraudulent ID varies from person to person depending on criminal history. Those costs are determined by courts. People can spend up to 93 days in jail for using a fake ID, although "99 percent of the time that doesn't happen," Browne said.
"If a student is using a fake ID to obtain alcohol, then that can result in a misdemeanor," he said. "Most of the time, (the incident) is dealt with at the bar and they handle it as they see fit. Every once in a while (a bar) will call because they're unsure if an ID is fake or not. Every once in a while we bust, or are involved in the apprehension of a group, that has been making fake or fraudulent identifications."
The last major arrest of people manufacturing fake IDs was roughly three to four years ago, Browne said.
"During that bust, we had the FBI involved with it because when you are creating fake IDs, you are creating a (fake) government document," Browne said.
It doesn't matter if it is a student's first offense, Browne said, the department treats every minor the same. But like Breidenstein said, the fakes are getting harder to identify.
"Some of the IDs are generally better than others, with some even having working barcodes and magnetic strips. They've definitely, in the course of my career, gotten a lot more realistic looking," Browne said.
Okemos senior Trenton Von Klingler said he's never used a fake or false ID and has never wanted to.
He believes students, especially those away from home for their first time, are enticed to get a fake ID because of how much Americans glorify alcohol.
"I feel like the laws should change (nationally) so drinking is more socially acceptable," Von Klingler said. "There's this naughty draw to it now. If you look at places in Europe where the drinking age is much lower, there's not this overly-excited drinking age when they hit 18 or 20 years old. Because (drinking under 21) is something we're told not to do, all that makes students want to do is drink underage."
