Fake IDs easy to produce

Liquor outlets around the country are falling prey to fake IDs that any school kid can forge on a home computer.
A designer can take just minutes to alter a New Zealand Driver's Licence using free software available on the internet and a low-end scanner.
Masterton police Senior Sergeant Warwick Burr said teenagers were courting jail time when designing the IDs, which can be easily done using programmes such as Adobe Photoshop.
He said the date of birth was changed to make the bearer of the licence over the age of 18 and in many cases alcohol purchases were made with the counterfeit IDs.
"In their eyes, they might see it as only a minor thing, but they're actually stepping into more serious realms of crime that could lead to imprisonment and affect their overseas travel or job opportunities in the future. It's serious stuff."
A Masterton man, 17, is facing a forgery charge brought under the Crimes Act after producing fake IDs. The teenager was alleged to have made fake drivers licences over a five-month period using a home computer.
Mr Burr said Masterton police are unaware of any licences being designed in local schools a major worry of police in Waikato at the moment.
Waikato police had recently made several arrests related to the manufacture of false drivers licences and are asking schools and education providers to be wary of what their students are doing in technology suites.
The Hamilton Police Liquor Licensing Team has, over the past eight months, confiscated several driver's licences from city bar staff.
"These are real licences that have been presented as identification by people trying to gain entry to licensed premises," constable Murray Macdonald said.
"Of the large number of people spoken to, about 130 had police action taken against them.
"It's fraud and not only can the person presenting the fake identification be prosecuted but the owner as well."
Mr Burr said Masterton police have a policy of contacting people caught using fake licences and the offenders could be stung with fines of up to $2000.
He urges liquor retailers to "have a good look" at the IDs and said he understood that in some cases bad lighting made the task difficult.
"They also reserve the right not to accept an ID and are not obliged to give any reason for doing so.
"Even if someone presents an ID that states they are 22 but they look 17, they can still refuse them."
Masterton Pak'nSave owner Paul de Lara-Bell said his supermarket had encountered fake IDs created from scratch.
"They are usually thinner than the genuine ones."
He said a group of pupils were last year caught attempting to use fake IDs and "did a runner".
The supermarket contacted the school and they were lined up and made to apologise, he said.
"When it comes to fake IDs we get two types of people those using their friends or brothers genuine IDs, which can be difficult for us if they look alike, and those who forge licences by drawing 8s into 9s or making ones on the computer.
He said check-out operators ask customers to take their licences out of their wallets so they can analyse them carefully and check for scratches and other signs of tampering.
"They also look out for things like younger-looking people in there by themselves buying two or three cases of beer, which looks a bit dodgy.
"If we catch someone doing it our policy is to hang on to them and call the police. If they do a runner then we pass on the ID to the police."