Faking it

IU's reputation as a party school has historically caused University officials to cringe, and students to work even harder to uphold it.\nHowever, defending the party title can be costly to many undergraduates who opt to enter the bar scene early with fake IDs. \nPossessing a fake ID is a Class C infraction and is punishable by up to $500 in fines, said Indiana Excise Police officer R. McDonald. The demand for fake IDs has also created an onslaught of students who choose to chance the law by creating the IDs. Making fake IDs is a Class D felony, punishable by up to $1,000 in fines and up to a year in jail, McDonald said. \nIndiana State Police Cpl. and Bloomington District Duty Officer Eric Dunn said he has seen many fake IDs in his career but admits several offenders slip through the cracks.\n"There's a lot more out there than what's caught, oh yes," Dunn said.\nBut for those who do get caught, the consequences are not pleasant.\nAmanda, a junior, recently had her fake ID taken away while outside of Kilroy's Sports Bar. She said the bouncer at the door denied her and then warned her that excise police were lurking about. \n"I started walking away and out of nowhere this guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me for my ID," Amanda said. \nAmanda showed the officer her real ID, which said she was 20 years old. The officer asked her why she would try to use that ID to get into a bar, talked to the bouncer and asked her if she was going to stop lying to him, she said. The officer took Amanda's fake ID and asked her to blow into a Breathalyzer, she said. \n"I blew a .04," Amanda said. "I had like one drink an hour before." \nAmanda got a $400 ticket, probation for a year and has to take an alcohol class. \n"My birthday is in like seven days, too," Amanda said.\nOthers have been lucky to narrowly escape trouble. Rachel, also a junior, found this out one night when one of her friends convinced her to try to go to a bar before she turned 21. \n"She was like 'Come to (a bar) with me, you don't even have to have a fake,'" Rachel said. \nRachel used her Victoria's Secret credit card as an ID and it worked. Once inside, the women couldn't find the people they were looking for so they walked over to Upstairs. \nWhen they arrived, Rachel's friend told her they were checking for IDs, she said. This caught the bouncer's attention and he asked the women for their IDs.\n"I was like 'We forgot something' and started to pull her away," she said. "The guy followed us and asked for our IDs again, but we walked away, got in the car and left."\nNervous behavior, like Rachel's, often calls more attention to offenders, said John, a junior and former bouncer for Kilroy's on Kirkwood. John said he has seen several acts of stupidity regarding fake IDs, adding that some of the most common excuses from people he questioned about the picture on their IDs were that they had either "lost a lot of weight" or "hit a growth spurt." \n"A lot of times someone would come with one of my friend's IDs and I'd be like 'I know this person' and have to turn them away," John said. \nThe "pass back" is a favorite technique for younger, underage women, John said. He said a group of women would come up and two would go in while the rest waited for one of the first two to pass her ID back through the gates. \n"It's pretty obvious," John said. \nJohn said he usually worked with another bouncer, and between the two of them, they would turn away about 25 people a night for fake IDs. \nThere are certain things bouncers and police look for when trying to spot fake IDs. Sometimes one of the corners isn't the same as the rest, and some are just made out of crappy material, John said. \n"A lot of times people cannot verbally match up the information printed on there," Dunn said. \nNate, a junior, said he has experienced this kind of questioning regarding his fake ID before. \n"Some places give a crap and have asked me to spell my last name backwards or tell them my street address," Nate said. \nThere are some places where Nate won't use his fake ID, such as liquor stores and Nick's English Hut. \n"They have a history of being tough to get into with a fake," Nate said. \nNate said though the process of using the fake ID is sometimes nerve-wracking, his ID has always worked for him so far. \nThe success stories like Nate's and underage students' desire to socialize fuels the market place for fake ID-makers. Making fake IDs can be extremely profitable, but it also has its drawbacks, said IU alumnus Adam, who used to make fake IDs. \n"I started making fake IDs because like every other college student I was broke," Adam said. \nAdam learned how to make fake IDs from someone else but said that he could have looked at the many Web sites that offer instructions. \n"It's not difficult to figure out or to get really good at," Adam said. \nAdam spent about $1,000 to get the supplies he needed for his operation. Adam also encountered other outside costs. His cell phone bill, which was normally about $50 a month, shot up to between $150 and $300 during the months he was making fake IDs. \nAdam also became extremely paranoid about the police during the time he was making fake IDs. \n"Every time I heard sirens I was reaching for that 'format hard drive' button," Adam said. \nAdam began making IDs just for people he knew personally, but word soon spread from his friends to their friends and so on. \n"Once it got to the point where people I didn't know would call, that was enough," Adam said. \nAlong with random phone calls, Adam was spending all his free time making fake IDs. \n"It consumed my life," Adam said. "I wanted nothing to do with it anymore." \nEven though he made between $7,000 and $8,000, Adam said he would not do it again because of what he knows now. \n"It's not something I would recommend to anyone," Adam said, "unless you like someone you don't know screaming at you because someone took away their fake ID because they were stupid"