Public Safety
Darien Police: Getting a Phony ID is a Felony
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Darien Police on Thursday mentioned a recent incident in which phony identification was found on a town teenager, and police say they recently came upon other teens with fake IDs. [Editor’s note: See the update quoting a Greenwich police officer at the bottom of this article.]
Fake IDs are now being sold on the Internet. That’s a felony under state law, they remind the public in this announcement (although local police haven’t said they’re actually charging teens with the felony crime):
In recent weeks the Darien Police Department has come across several young people who were in possession of fraudulent or “fake IDs.” It’s been determined that the main sources of these counterfeit licenses are online retailers. The websites typically require each purchaser to send their name, photo, signature and payment. The manufacturer would then generate a fake address usually taken directly from MLS listings of houses for sale in the chosen state. The high quality identification cards replicate licenses from Connecticut and other states.
Intricate details are duplicated on the counterfeit licenses, including watermarks, making them nearly indistinguishable from authentic IDs. The counterfeit licenses cost between $100 and $200 and usually need to be purchased using pre-paid credit cards, reload cards, wire transfers, or Bitcoins.