Showing posts with label d.i.c.k.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label d.i.c.k.. Show all posts

Monday, January 05, 2009

Recent Comment...

I just recieved this comment frrom the first installment of the D.I.C.K. Files. You can read the entry here: D.I.C.K. I: Fake Spotting...

This comment was left behind by Anonymous.
Unfortunately, my boss made it a point on the first night that our business runs off underage people who are able to get into bars.

I have to go with this on slow nights, since I live on the tipout at the end of the night, but any night when we've got more than 100 or so people inside, I love crushing the 19 year olds dreams.
There's a lot of things that I could go off on a tangent about. As for Anonymous' locality, I have no idea what the legalities are. Since they vary from State to State. Although, coming from a very spiteful person, if I was ever unlawfully fired from the position I'd have the cops in there faster than hell to have the bar shut down. Yes, I am that type of person.

Who knows, maybe the bar will be up for sale after it's fined for all the underage kids?

Another thing. I would never work for a tip out. Give me a good hourly rate and I'm there. If I have to depend on how well other people do their jobs to make a living then I'm not working. Especially considering the amount of times I've heard bartenders argue about how much to tip out the barback. "We should give him 25%" "Are you kidding? All he did was stock beer and serve the waitress." Bartenders will tip you out the littlest they can without making you suspicious. And imagine if you throw out one of their friends or you don't let one of their friends in. You won't be making rent any time soon.

Perhaps your boss should focus more on doing things to get people into the establishment. Maybe some kind of special events, drink specials or if you have food then maybe food specials.

Overall, I'd be worried if a Police sting happens. The owner might fire you if you get caught even though you're doing what he told you to do.

Hopefully this isn't your only job and it's just supplemental.

Since your doing what the boss tells you to do then I guess you don't have much choice. Keep it up, just remember to cover your own ass.

-Be Safe.

Friday, August 08, 2008

D.I.C.K. VI: Pennsylvania...

Pennsylvania. State of Independence.

The Story.

When you work at different places it's good to see familiar faces from the other place. Sometimes it's fun and other times it's not. I guess it all depends on how you handle situations.

After seeing a person at one establishment for months, constantly coming in and drinking, you wouldn't think there'd be a problem with them at a different establishment. Good thing I rarely think in that fashion.

I had seen this girl drink at my other job many times. She was always really nice and always had good things to say. So one night we were talking and she asked if it would be ok if she came to the other place that I worked. Unknowingly, I said that it would be cool if she did.

A few weeks go by and the girl seemed to disappear. I didn't see her at the normal spots.

One night at work a group of girls come walking up and I start to i.d. them. Somewhere in the middle a girl hands me her i.d. and says, "Hey Mike, I'm taking you up on your offer."

The i.d. I can see is fake and then I look up to see the girl's face. There she was. The girl that was constantly drinking at my other job. She had reappeared and now I could either do my job and take away her i.d. or I could just ignore it and let her in.

"What do you mean your keeping that?" She was pissed. "I thought you were my friend. That's why I came here."

"Friend or not, I'm doing what I get paid to do. If I knew you were underage I'd never let you drink in the other place." I didn't work the door at the other place. I just kept an eye on the inhabitants.

"They let me in all the time."

"Not anymore." I slid the i.d. into my back pocket. We had words for about 20 minutes going back and forth. I don't think I've said "No" so many times before.

The next time I worked at the Secondary I mentioned the i.d. to TD.

"Yea, I was up here when she gave Jake the story bout you taking her i.d. away." TD continued, "I asked her why you took it away and she said 'because it was fake'. Jake told her to be quiet and she narced him out for knowing. Dumb Bitch... Had to fire Jake after that."

The Fake.

This was a decent fake. It looked real but the hologram once again was the tip off.

A normal Pennsylvania license has a hologram on it that lists off the counties in the state. Which tends to be a pretty normal thing on some licenses.

This one had an eagle with it's wings spread in the middle with the terms GENUINE, SECURE, AUTHENTIC, and VALID going around it. Plus it had wavy lines going around all of that. Definite fake hologram material.

Once again, here's a better picture of what the hologram looks like.

When you compare the two pictures you can slightly see the hologram on the picture of the license.

Friday, August 01, 2008

D.I.C.K. V: Oklahoma...

Oklahoma. Everything's going to be OK.

The Story.

On most slower nights I like to step outside and check i.d.'s. It's usually slow enough inside that there aren't many people to have to watch over.

On one slower night, a small group of four or five girls came walking up. I asked them how their night was going and they said it was going great. Then they asked if Vincent was here yet.

Vincent is a doorman from a different establishment. He's been coming by on a regular basis. I only know him because he made a point of letting me know where he works. Which at certain times can be annoying but if brought up in conversation is fine. I rarely have conversations with people that are new regulars. Actually, I rarely have conversations with anyone while I'm working.

I explained to the girls that I had not seen Vincent as of yet. One of the girls mentioned that they were to meet him here and that they had just left the place he worked. I nodded and said ok and then asked to see their i.d.'s. They all started pulling their i.d.'s out of their wallets and purses.

I started checking their i.d.'s and the first four were good. Then I came upon the last girl.

Right from the start, as soon as I turned the i.d. and saw the holograms on it I asked for a 2nd form of i.d. Of course she didn't have one so I told her that I'd be holding onto this i.d. until she could provide a second form.

Just as the girls were about to start arguing, Vincent walked up.

The girl the i.d. came from ran up to Vincent and started talking to him. They stood there for a few minutes and he kept looking over towards me. The girl turned and Vincent walked up to me. "Hey man, she's legit. She's been in my bar all night and I carded her at the door. If you don't want them here just say that."

I stood there with a flat face looking Vincent in the eye. "Listen man... I don't know where you learned to check i.d.'s but this is 100% fake. I suggest you learn how to card people. The i.d. is fake and she's not getting it back."

Vincent then turns sideways to me and leans over towards me. "Come on man, don't make me look bad. Just let her have it back and we'll go somewhere else."

I don't take the liberty of whispering. "If I wanted you to look bad I'd just call your boss and explain to him that your not only letting under age kids into your bar but your trying to bring them into mine. I'm sure he'd appreciate knowing that your putting his liquor license and his business into jeopardy every night you work the door."

Vincent stood there staring at me.

I added, "She's not getting it back. You might as well leave."

The Fake.

It is rare that we get Oklahoma licenses around here. The main give away that this was a fake was the hologram.

You can see parts of the hologram in this copy. The terms SECURE, GEUINE, VALID, and AUTHENTIC are all visible on this scanned copy of the i.d.

I've also added what the entire hologram looks like underneath the scanned copy.

The two eagles on the sides weren't very visible in the scanned copy.

At least with the hologram picture you can have a better idea of what is visible with the naked eye.

Any State i.d. that you come across with this type of hologram is fake. It should be confiscated or cut up right there and then.

If your policy is to cut up the fake i.d.'s that you come across make sure that you keep a piece so that they can't just be taped back together.

Friday, July 25, 2008

D.I.C.K. IV: Michigan...

Michigan. The Hi 5 state?

The Story.

A girl walks up to the door. She's got long blonde dreadlocks with a scarf around her head. She pulls her chain wallet out of her back pocket and opens it up to show me her i.d. I ask her to take it out of the wallet and she does.

I look at the i.d. and notice that the picture is very dark and that the background seems foggy. Looking closer at the i.d. I notice that the lettering is blurry and some of the words are so fuzzy that they're hard to read.

In the girl's picture on the i.d. it looks like she has either a shaved head or her hair pulled back. Even that was hard to tell. So I turn the i.d. over and check the edges and find that the i.d. is starting to come apart on one of the corners.

I ask her for another form of i.d. and she says she doesn't have anything else with her.

I explain to her that I'm keeping the i.d. until she can produce another form. She tries to argue but leaves when she sees that I won't budge from my decision.

The Fake.

After looking at the i.d. and noticing the dark background, fuzzy lettering and dark picture, I knew something was up with it. When I noticed that one of the corners was starting to split I knew that the i.d. couldn't have been real.

After the night was over I took a closer look at the i.d. I never want to take apart a fake i.d. just so that I can show it to my other doorstaff and give them reference material for when they're working the door. I did notice what looked like a 2nd i.d. underneath the top layer.

After showing the i.d. to a few people I decided to take it apart. I used some adhesive removal liquid and slowly removed the top layer. Underneath that layer was the girl's real driver's license.

As you can see by the picture, the real i.d. is much brighter in color. The lettering is much easier to read and the picture is much easier to see. You can also see that she was four years younger than what the top layer had claimed she was.

She had removed the Under 21 lettering that was above her picture, changed her birth date and she change the expiration date. She didn't change her license number or any of the other information.

One of the things that she couldn't change or even put on the top layer is the hologram that Michigan uses on their i.d.'s. Holograms very rarely can be added to fakes in a manner that they look real.

Friday, July 11, 2008

D.I.C.K. III: California...

Welcome to California. Home to the Stars and Govnah Ahnold.

The Story.

It was early in the evening when a young male came walking up. Business was slow and there wasn't a lot of people out. As he walked up I asked for his i.d. and he pulled out his wallet. He held out his wallet so I could look at the i.d., I didn't even look at it and asked, "Can you take it out of the wallet?"

The guy stood there for a second and I repeated myself. Then he started to pull the i.d. out of his wallet. "This could take forever, it's a new wallet," he said as he struggled to get the i.d. out.

"That's fine, I got all day."

After a couple minutes and a struggle he pulled out his i.d. and handed it to me. Right from the start the i.d. felt very thick. I looked at it close and noticed that it seemed like it had a thick layer of plastic on it. I tried to bend it but it was very stiff and wouldn't bend.

Looking at the picture I could see that it was him but there was no way this was a real California i.d.

"You have any other i.d.'s with you?"

The kid went back to his wallet, "Yea, I have a couple credit cards and a..."

"Credit cards aren't i.d.'s. You have anything else with your name, picture and birth date on it?"

"Uh.. no.. is there a problem?"

"None at all but I can't let you in with this."

"Ok, that's cool," and he put out his hand as if I was giving the i.d. back to him.

"Yea. You can't have this back either. This is fake."

The kid hung his head, turned and walked away without an argument of any kind.


The Fake

As soon as the i.d. hit my hand I knew something was wrong with it. It felt twice as thick as any other i.d. that I've ever felt. Then after looking at it, it looked very cloudy like there was a film over top of the i.d. The picture and even the lettering looked blurry.

I looked at the picture and it was definitely the person that handed it to me.

The edges of the i.d. were worn down as if it had been around for a long time.

The hologram was very prominent. It stood out over the picture instead of partially blending in with the background.

California is one of the states that can boast about their i.d. being one of the hardest to reproduce. I've never had a good California fake. Most of the fakes I've gotten from California are horrible. They're in the same condition as this one.

After work I decided to do a little experimenting with it. I used my pocket knife to slowly pry the i.d. apart in the middle where it had already started to come apart. Once the knife made it in I started twisting it a little and I thought I saw another face in there.

Later, I was able to use a friend's bottle of Goo Gone. After letting it sit for a while the i.d. split in half very easily. At that point it was very easy to see the second face that was under neath.

After they split apart you could see the difference. The top i.d. was an i.d. for a male with dark hair and brown eyes. The i.d. that was on the bottom was for a female with dark hair and brown eyes.

Surprisingly they both had similar names. Her name was Carly and his was Carlos and they both had the same last name. Although her penmanship is horrible and her signature looks like her name is Carlg.

Maybe they were twins traveling together and he was holding her i.d. for her. All the heat just melted the i.d.'s together? Think that's possible?

Our friend must have had a really good sex change. Or perhaps it was an extremely flat chested female that wanted people to think she was a male?

Then again, it could just have been two really bad fakes stacked together and then shrink wrapped. But what do I know?


I think the story about the sex change would be more interesting.

Friday, July 04, 2008

D.I.C.K. II: Delaware...

It only seems fair that Delaware is the first state in these installments. After all, the state's motto is "The First State".

The Story.

As I was standing out front of the establishment a group of 4 or 5 young ladies came walking up. The were wearing nice dresses and they were all done up as if they just came from some kind of an event, such as a wedding. Usually this doesn't throw up any flags with me. Usually white collar women tend to dress a little better then the white collar men. By the time I see any white collar men their ties are pulled down or they're around their head in Rambo style. The reason that the flags went off was because these girls just looked too young to be that formal.

"How's it going tonight ladies?"

One girl answered as the others started searching for their i.d.'s, "Good, how are you tonight?"

"I'm doing well. I need to see your i.d.'s please. Was there a wedding tonight?"

"No, we're just out and about."

I looked over the i.d.'s and as I gave them back they all started to file into the establishment. Then I came to the last one.

I stood there for a minute looking at the i.d. There was just something about it that didn't sit well. It looked legit but I kept looking at the face of the girl that handed it to me and she kept looking around. Then I tilted the i.d. to see the holograms and I knew what was wrong. It was a complete fake.

According to the laws here, when we take away a fake i.d. they want us to take away the real i.d. as well. This way they have the person's real name and information when it comes to prosecution. I rarely ever do this. I figure that just taking away the i.d. is enough of a punishment. Some fake i.d.'s could cost close to $200.

I looked back at the girl and asked for a second form of i.d. Then I noticed that she was looking at the front door. I looked over my shoulder and saw one of the previous girls standing there.

"Miss, unless you have a real i.d., I can't let you in here. This i.d. is fake."

"Oh, ok... well... I'll just leave then," and she reached for the i.d.

I pulled my hand back and slipped the i.d. into my pocket. "You can leave but you can't have this back."

After seeing me put the i.d. into my pocket, the girl's friends all came walking back out. The typical arguments of "It's illegal to take that away", "Your stealing her property", and "We'll call the cops" ensued. I told them that I'd gladly call the cops if they wanted me to.

After a few minutes a squad car was driving by so I asked the girls if I should ask the cops to stop over. They said no and slowly walked away.

The Fake.

This is the i.d. that was presented to me. All in all it's a fairly decent fake. There are many different things wrong with it other than the hologram that I'm not going to get into at this time.

If you look closely at the i.d. you can partially see the hologram that was used. You can barely make out some lettering. That lettering is used to spell the word AUTHENTIC which is on the list of wording that will never be used on an i.d. that is issued by the US or State governments.

Along with the lettering are three Bald Eagle images in the middle. This particular image will also never be used on real i.d.'s.

As for the three images above and below the lettering and bald eagle images, I'm still wondering what they're supposed to be. I'm guessing that it's either a swooping bird of some type or just a blob of some kind. For easier viewing, I've also posted what the hologram looks like before it's applied to the card stock.

If you are working the door and you have an internet ready phone there's one other thing you could do. I did this as I was writing this entry.

Go to google.com/maps and enter in the address that is listed on the i.d.. I'd say that more than half of the time the addresses on the i.d.'s are fake. As it was with this one. The city, state and zip code were real but the actual street name did not exist on Google. Maybe it's not in their database but that and the hologram together would be enough for me to take away the i.d.

Actually, the hologram was enough all by itself.

Friday, June 27, 2008

D.I.C.K. I: Fake Spotting...

I know this topic has been gone over and over by a lot of different people. There have been posts on the subject in a lot of forums on a lot of different sites. I'll tell you now. Every experienced door person has their own way of checking i.d.'s.

Some people like to ask questions.
  • "When's your birthday?"
  • "What's your sign?"
  • "What street do you live on?"

I don't ask questions. I don't because all that information can be learned and remembered. I look hard at the i.d. and the person. I remember a little bit from biology class and apply that (which is limited) to what I look for. Eye placement, ear placement, chin, weight gain, weight loss, hair color, eye color, and so on. Yes, I will ask you to take out your contacts if your eye color is different and I don't think it's you.

I also rely on my 6th sense of just feeling a person out as they talk and their mannerisms. The way they hold themselves, if they're looking away from me, if they can't shut up, how nervous they're acting, and so on.

There is a basic procedure for checking i.d.'s. It's what every door person will learn on their first night. Beyond this procedure is what I've learned through my experiences.

This is the basic procedure:
  • Ask patron to see their i.d.
    • If they refuse, then refuse them entry.
  • I.D. must be taken out of the holder and placed in your hand.
    • If they refuse, then refuse them entry.
  • Check condition of the i.d.
    • If any of the holograms listed below are on the i.d. it is fake. Keep it.
  • Check expiration date
    • If the i.d. is expired, then it is not a valid form of i.d. No Entry.
  • Check birth date
  • Check photo and compare it to the presenter
    • Check eye color
      • If eye color is different and you are suspicious, ask if they wear contacts. If yes then ask them to remove one.
    • Check hair color
      • Hair color changes constantly. Nothing to do here really.
    • Check height
      • If the i.d. says they are 6'2" and they are noticeably shorter then there is reason to be cautious.
    • Check weight
      • Weight does change in time but if the person weighs noticeably more or less there is reason to be cautious.
    • Check sex
      • Laugh now but this has happened before. I caught a guy with his twin sisters i.d.
  • Compare the location of eyes, ears, chin to presenter and photo
  • If all of these are satisfactory allow them entry.
These are the basics to checking an i.d. If these all pass without doubt then your good. The following pertains to the actual i.d.'s and typical fakes that have been caught.


First off, let's go through the list of terms or symbols that you will never see on an i.d. that is supposed to be issued by a state within the United States. These terms and symbols are usually in a form of a hologram on the i.d. somewhere. Most commonly they are diagonally or straight across the entire face of the i.d.

These terms are:
  • Authentic
  • Genuine
  • Secure
  • Valid
  • Seal of Authenticity
Since it's easier to show you the symbols that are commonly used for fake i.d.'s I'll direct you to a site where you can see them.

Disclaimer: I will not say that this company is willingly or knowingly selling these products to counterfeiters. In fact, the company is designed to create i.d.'s for companies to use as part of their security efforts. It just turns out that a lot of kids that make fake i.d.'s use products that are similar to theirs. By directing you to this website I do not make any claims that this company is helping to make i.d.'s for underage people or that their specific products are being used in any of these processes.

You can view these holograms at this web address: http://www.securityhologram.com/

Some very common symbols are:
  • Skeleton Keys
  • Globe
  • An Eagle's Head
  • A badge or shield
So right off the top, if anyone presents a State i.d. or Driver's License with these holograms on them, it's mine. It does not go back to the person presenting it. It is 100% fake and this person is underage, hiding out from Johnny Law or an illegal immigrant. I don't care.


Another thing to look for is the thickness of the i.d. If the i.d. is really thick then there's good reason to look at it harder. Just take the i.d. in both hands and try to twist and bend it. A lot of times the i.d. will start to separate between the layers of pressed paper. It might reveal a real i.d. below or it might just reveal that it's pressed paper. Also, watch the expressions on the person's face as you do this. They might try to object to you bending and twisting their i.d. If the i.d. is real there's no need to worry because it won't split.


Check the edges. Sometimes fakes are nothing more than a scanned i.d. that has been rendered, printed as a sticker, placed over the i.d. and then the excess trimmed off the sides. Usually you can feel the edge and can start to peel it off with your fingernail. When the presenter sees you doing this they'll usually object to it. Personally, I keep doing it until I'm satisfied.


These are a lot of the ways to spot fakes. Each time is usually a different incident and there's always different outcomes. Sometimes the people just walk away, sometimes they argue and at times they even try to buy it back. Each i.d. is a different story and I hope to bring these stories more to life for you in the coming posts.

If I can, I'll try to show you the differences between real i.d.'s and the fake ones, side by side if possible.

Until then.

-Be Safe.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Fake I.D. VI: Bringing it home...

Throughout my time I've collected a lot of fake i.d.'s. I've recently decided to actually put them out here for more people to see. I know there's a lot of people that like the stories that I put up but now comes a little more detail.

In the coming weeks I'm going to actually post some of these fakes that I've taken away from people. I had a friend of mine go through and distort the i.d.'s so faces won't be recognized and names and vital information is either changed or removed. No need in leaving that on there for it to come back on me.

I tried to come up with an interesting title to use for these posts. I bounced the idea around with a friend of mine and we came up with a decent idea although the title is rather long. So they'll be titled D.I.C.K.. Which is short for Devious Identification and Contraband Knowledge. Seems rather justified since most people think I'm a dick when I take away their fakes anyways.

I'll go through each i.d. and list off the reasons as to why it's fake. If I remember what actually happened that night I'll add that on to the entry as well.

For now I'm only going to post one fake i.d. per week. I'll even post it earlier in the day so any door personnel that are reading this can see it before they head off to work. Hopefully it'll stick in some minds for the busy nights ahead.

I'll put up my evidence so you can read through it and decide. As to how I do that is still to be seen. Let's just say it's my way of helping out the doorstaff that actually likes doing their jobs. I believe the posts will be popping up on future Friday afternoons.

As with anything else you might read in a blog remember this. My entries are based on my experiences. Take it as a grain of salt or take it as gospel, just don't quote me unless you come to me first.

Along with these entries I'm going to be putting a new section up in the Links area on the side. It will include links to sites that carry equipment that is useful for the job. If you do this type of work and have links feel free to send them to me through email or post it in a comment. Just don't spam the comments, that shit is annoying. If it becomes an issue I'll have to turn off the comment feature.

So that's a brief introduction on a few of the upcoming events. Let's hope it all works out the way I hope.

-Be Safe.