Fake ID Cards and The Law

Authorities Taking Action against fake IDs

Only recently, in America, there have been initiatives to crack down on the use of Fake IDs and Identification papers. A national task force is now forming part of a national effort to try and bring some standardization in how the individual states format driver’s license information.

It will assist in law enforcement as if the information is collected consistently across the states, then it will be easier to start, continue and bring to conclusion, various criminal cases and investigations.

Colorado for example has been very proactive using a successful facial recognition system comparing photos of the same person having multiple identification cards. While facial recognition cannot be done on a national level there may be a point when that technology becomes available.

In response to fake IDs staff at the driver’s license offices is trained to identify and then seize fake source documents such as birth certificates. Driver’s license staff can also identify many fake IDs produced on the street and seizes those documents.

However, because the business community relies on IDs in so many transactions their staff can give seminars to vendors to assist in identifying fake ID. MiniCheck-OCR developed a software product called MiniCheck MGR to scan, validate and process checks and barcodes.

It is developed with the aim of minimizing the fraud due to fake IDs such as driver’s license and state ID. This software provides features for ID and Check validation thereby empowering the sales representative. There are three types of cards, cards with Magnetic stripes, Barcode and MagnePrint cards.

When a card is swiped, the raw data encoded on these cards is parsed and converted into meaningful information and displayed on the user interface to verify if the information displayed on the card is same as on the screen thereby reducing the fraud of using fake IDs.

Many shops and stores are starting to enhance the existing standalone application by improving the user interface and making it more powerful than before in terms of functionality.

They changed the user interface to make it more user friendly for the end users. This application worked with MiniSwipe, Card Scan, MICR, Excella STX and MagenPrint scanners. MiniSwipe, MICR and Excella STX scanners read Magnetic stripe, Card Scan and Excella STX scanners read Barcode and MagnePrint scanner reads Magneprint.

They replaced the ClearImage Software Development Kit with Atalasoft imaging toolkit used for parsing barcodes images. They integrated various SDKs for supporting Magtek Excella STX, CardScan. 

 United States deal with fake ID users with an Iron Fist.

The punishments of using a Fake ID can be severe:

• You can be convicted of a misdemeanor, which will appear on your criminal record.
• You can lose your driver’s license for one year (regardless of whether you were driving a car). Under California law (Vehicle Code Section 13202.5), when a minor is convicted of an alcohol-related crime (such as the purchase, possession or consumption of alcohol, furnishing alcohol to a minor, or possessing an open container of alcohol in public), the minor’s driver’s license may be suspended for one year.
• Even if you appear in court, and the judge or DA offers to reduce your charge to an infraction, and you are only required to pay a fine for this violation, you are still pleading guilty. In this context, a “no contest” plea is exactly the same as a guilty plea.
• The court sends this conviction information to the DMV, which then automatically suspends your license for one year. Keep in mind that a license suspension is likely to increase your auto insurance premiums once you are eligible to drive again.
• If you are driving a car, you can be charged with a DUI (driving under the influence) if your blood alcohol content is .05 percent or higher, and you can have your license suspended for a year if there’s any trace of alcohol in your body in addition to an MIP.

There are three approaches you can take to contest the violation and attempt to avoid a criminal conviction: 1. With the assistance of a private criminal attorney o A good private attorney will work diligently with you on your case – be aware that not all lawyers are the same, so you should be thoughtful in choosing one. You may receive mailed solicitations from attorneys who got your address from a public filing of charges against you – avoid hiring them. Call the Alameda County Lawyer Referral Service