how can bouncers tell if an ID is fake when every state/country has a unique ID?
In: Technology
They just do the best they can with what they know. Some likely get past but how many fake id’s are there out there, really?
Reminds me of that story of the woman getting hassled by TSA because the guy had never heard of District of Columbia and was demanding an American ID.
If bouncers in my town see an out of state ID they always ask for 1-2 forms of backup ID such as student ID, debit card, etc. to prove authenticity. They can’t possibly know all of the state IDs perfectly.
Typically behavior of the person is a huge tip off, some acts like it’s a fake they check more carefully.
As for checking they know they know the surrounding states layout. And every ID has federal tells UV holographics and such.
If they think its stolen they can ask questions about birthday and name to make sure your who’s on the ID
Most people in task of checking IDs are usually also trained for characteristics of fake IDs and sometimes there’s a manual around that shows each state’s IDs and what it should look like.
Any experienced bouncer has handled thousands of IDs, one can immediately notice a difference just by feeling the card
People fork over a shit ton of money to get all these cool scannable IDs but then the allignment of the photo is crooked.
I am sure some get through the cracks and some legit IDs are thought to be fake. However, the bigger the establishment the more experienced their bouncers.
They look for holograms and watermarks that are hard to duplicate, they look for evidence of tampering, look to make sure photo and stats match person. They also have a book that is a reference guide for all state IDs with photo, description of safety features they can refer to. They can ask for additional proof, or can even just deny entry if they’re unsure (had this happen to my college girlfriend in Atlanta, with her West Virgina license — bouncer didn’t believe anybody was actually from WV, refused to let her in even with photo student ID, credit card).
They can’t. However, making a convincing ID actually takes a bit of skill, and most IDs have holograms and magnetic strips that are hard to fake but pretty easy to check. Most states have laws or policies that specify proper ID checking procedures, so long as a business follows that, they are not responsible if a fake ID slips by them.
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