Teens Find Fake IDs Online
New York police recently shut down a major fake ID operation to try to decrease the amount of underage teens from obtaining fake IDs through online websites.
September 16, 2011
Teens Find Fake IDs OnlineThanks to the Internet teens now acquire fake IDs in the comfort of their own rooms. For a small fee they can order one made for them online. They can even download software that, with the proper hardware, allows them to make them and sell them to others. In New York, police recently shut down a major fake ID operation run by an 18 year-old.
Some fake ID sites turn cash-deficient teens into co-conspirators. Such exploitive sites make soliciting clients sound no more criminal than just getting a fake ID. They entice teens with money, labeling them "associates" for steering students and friends to the site.
People running these often make customers agree through a disclaimer that they intend the product for novelty purposes only helps shield them from prosecution. Working outside of the jurisdictions they affect can also protect them.
The teens buying from them lack such protection. How they get caught can aggravate charges out of proportion for their offense. Teens may only think they are having fun, but in some states just having a fake ID can subject them to severe penalties, even felonies in some cases. In North Carolina, for example, merely possessing a fake ID can result in criminal charges whether the person intended to use it or not. A fake ID in their own name might cost them their driver's license and a lifetime of nuisance, but one in someone else's name could count as identity theft, something far more serious.
Recent laws intended to stem identity theft aggravate charges for other crimes, and make false IDs more serious than ever. The language of such laws may not distinguish between crimes like larceny and illegally buying beer. Using a fake ID to buy liquor illegally still applies it to a crime.
Law enforcement and prosecutors take these charges seriously. For students or other people charged with possessing or using false identification, it is important to discuss the situation with an experienced attorney.
Article provided by The Law Office of Matthew J. Davenport, P.A.
Visit us at http://www.mattdavenportlaw.com