Scanners don’t catch all fakes

The arms race between fake ID users and tavern owners has escalated in the digital age with… The arms race between fake ID users and tavern owners has escalated in the digital age with the advent of high-resolution scanners and software programs like Adobe Photoshop.

In an effort to keep pace with would-be underage drinkers, many bars have shelled out thousands for machines that scan the magnetic strips on the back of authentic ID cards. But even these aren’t foolproof.

Some Oakland establishments, such as Bootleggers on Atwood Street and Hemingway’s on Forbes Avenue, have used scanners to spot fake IDs for years.

“We’ve had a scanner for five years. We always use it in the beginning of the year when there’s a load of new IDs coming in,” Bootleggers owner Joseph Pivirotto said.

Other bars, such as Boomerang’s on Forbes Avenue, are just now upgrading their technology.

“I had an incident in June,” Boomerang’s owner Jared Hosack said. “Some false IDs got through the door. The doorman was doing his job. I just didn’t have the technology.”

That changed this summer when Hosack spent $2,000 on a Viage CAV3200 card swiping machine.

“You swipe the card, or if it’s an ID card [as opposed to a driver’s license], we stick the magnetic strip in the side,” Hosack said. “We can also use the barcode. We have a three-fold code and it’s not easily broken.”

According to Hosack, the machine not only shows his employee the person’s age, but it also displays the date the person’s ID expires and the time he walked through the door.

But how effective are they?

Hosack said that his machine is one of the best defenses his business has against underage drinking. “A fake ID will not get through that machine,” he said.

Hemingway’s, however, also uses a Viage machine but with less than outstanding results.

“We do have a machine, but I’ll put Danielle Rampe up against any machine,” Hemingway’s owner John Elavsky said. “She’s the most diligent doorperson I’ve ever seen in Oakland. We very rarely use the machine. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Students can confirm this.

Andrew, an 18-year-old Pitt student who uses a fake ID regularly to get into local bars and whose last name has been withheld for this article, said that a good fake needs to have certain features if it’s going to work.

“Basically, [a good fake ID has] got to have some kind of hologram and a back that’s legit and usually a strip on the back that scans,” he said.

Rampe knows the game well. “Half of the fake IDs scan and half the real ones don’t, so what do you do?”

According to Pennsylvania Bureau of Liquor Control and Enforcement (BLCE) supervisor Robert George, bar owners are still encouraged to use traditional means to spot a fake.

“We don’t track who uses the machines and who doesn’t,” George said. “There is no regulation. We have portable ones that we use, but you can’t rely entirely on them. You still have to make sure it’s the person [pictured] on the ID.”

For this reason, owning a machine doesn’t guarantee that an establishment won’t receive a citation for serving alcohol to minors.

“The only way a bar is protected is if they have [the patron] fill out a Declaration of Age card and sign it, or if they make a photocopy of the ID,” George said.

The Declaration of Age card is a legally binding document that requires the signer to state that he or she is at least 21 years old. According to the front of the card, anyone who signs the document and is not 21 may face a $300 fine and up to 60 days in jail.

The penalty for underage drinking in the Commonwealth is on par with the punishment for swearing out an inaccurate declaration card.

According to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, underage drinkers can be fined up to $500 and have their driver’s license suspended.

Because bars must still use other measures in order to prevent underage drinkers from entering, the BLCE neither condones nor endorses the use of swiping machines.

“It’s like a private company,” George said. “State police don’t endorse anything. It’s up to the licensee how much money they want to spend. That’s the licensee’s decision. If it’s not a busy bar, it’s probably not worth the investment. If it’s a really busy bar with a lot of IDs it probably is worth the investment.”

Representatives at Viage did not return phone calls inquiring about the accuracy of their machines.