<p>So… friend found out her S has obtained fake i.d. from an online source. The kid scanned his Drivers license, along with a current picture of himself and emailed to someone!
So…this kid’s DL#, date of birth, address, etc. are out on the internet! He sent it to a place that she googled and came up with many sites, all in Russian/Polish (she thinks). (faceforyou)</p>
<p>He’s smart kid and conversations have been had about internet safety! Why do they think bad things won’t happen to them???</p>
<p>Friend doesn’t even know where to begin to try and protect his i.d. I suggested trying to contact the 3 credit agencies, but they won’t deal with under 18. So…I’m coming to CC for any and all suggestions. </p>
<p>I have a keen interest in this, in that I have no doubt if my S is aware (and he probably is) that he’d follow suit–if he wasn’t the ring leader. We’ll be having conversation this evening!!!</p>
<p>Well, at least he got a “manufactured” ID with his real name on it; That’s what I assume he got. A “friend” of mine purchased a fake ID (innocently? ignorantly I guess) that turned out to be a stolen ID. The authorities were not too impressed with his excuse, that he didn’t steal it and didn’t know it was stolen. </p>
<p>In your case, can he cancel old drivers license # and get a new one?</p>
<p>Tampering of legal document could be a serious offense. It is not as bad to use a friend’s ID. Most college students would “borrow” older kid’s ID instead of getting a fake ID with one’ name on it.</p>
<p>Each state is different, this is from CT:
</p>
<p>You could get any where between 1-7 years jail time depending on if your intend for the fake id is to buy alcohol or fire arms.</p>
<p>Kids are trusting and do impulsive, stupid things. My mom likes to say they’re missing part of their brain (a.k.a. their brains are not fully developed). They have grown up with the internet and aren’t as skeptical as those of us who have been around the block a time or two. Surely what this kid did was wrong but I’m not terribly surprised that kids do this kind of thing. Didn’t most of us do some stupid things when we were younger?</p>
<p>Well, I grew up with the internet too but I have a CS degree and am aware of security issues. Have your kids visit slashdot.com regularly - the articles are interesting and geeky and a regular diet will keep you apprised of security and id theft issues.</p>
<p>When we moved my son into Penn as a freshman, every single person on his dorm floor, male and female, had a fake ID. One of them was a Texas ID and we compared it to my husband’s DL and we could not tell the difference. I was amazed that they all had these IDs. Some were in the real names and some not. Some kids had more than one.</p>
<p>That said, someone I know quite well was caught in NJ with a fake ID and it cost $5000 in legal fees (it’s a huge money-maker for the shore county lawyers) to get off, and required community service. It also involved a night in jail. It is a felony (possession of counterfeit indentification). This has all come about since 9/11.</p>
<p>In Florida, a fake ID has been a felony since before 9/11. </p>
<p>There are two issues, breaking the law by using the fake with the risk of getting caught and facing the consequences (financial and otherwise) and the fact that his ID info is out there. Even if he can get DMV to issue a new license with a new ID number (that will be tricky to impossible in some states–in Florida it incorporates your DOB info), there is still the fact that his DOB, picture, etc are out there. I hope he is not forgetting that he put the SS in the email as well :(.</p>
<p>It’s one thing to be 20 and using a fake. It is anther to b e 17…</p>
<p>Whew, I guess I learned something here today that I will pass along to my teenagers. I don’t think they would be dumb enough to do this, but better safe than sorry.</p>
<p>Way back in the day, when I was in college, we all knew that if asked by a cop in a bar, it was better to have no ID, or even an underage ID then a fake ID. You played the odds with what story you told a cop.</p>
<p>I had a fake ID back in the early 70s when I was in college. Back then you bought the paper stock from a “dealer” and typed up the license yourself. It’s MUCH more sophisticated now. Different states and different college towns treat this differently. At Penn State you do NOT want to get caught with a fake ID. The bars have the sophisticated scanners that can pick out the fakes. In Philadelphia around Penn, on the other hand, anything that even LOOKS like an ID will get you into a bar without any problem.</p>
<p>Update…friend talked with local PD. They’re familiar with scenario and indicate that friend has reason to be worried. Their suggestion is to file a “Suspicious Occurence” report with PD, mainly just to document from now on that kid’s ID/credit, etc., have been compromised. They also suggested contacting the credit agencies…which, again, have indicated they can only deal with things after kid is 18…and when action on ID has occurred. In our state, it is not a felony if kid uses to buy alcohol/gain access to clubs. It is felony when used in monetary transactions or legal actions…</p>
<p>In our state, both the person who “loans” an ID to a minor AND the minor can be convicted on criminal charges that vary in severity, depending on circumstances. It is NOT a trivial matter for any party involved here.</p>
<p>Hope the friend follows the good advice & does damaage control. <sigh> It is amazing what things kids get themselves into! The internet is a wild & crazy place!</sigh></p>
<p>It is harder to prove that you are not just “holding” an ID for a friend. When you are using a fake ID, hard to convince a police that you just accidentally typed in your name with different birthdate.</p>