Last updated on July 19th, 2024 at 12:38 pm

How do scannable fake IDs work? You might be wondering if any ID in front of your is legitimate. Or perhaps you are the owner of a fake ID and are looking to learn about how it will scan. Below, we’ll review what may happen when a fake ID is tested against ID scanning software.

Before we answer that question, it is important to understand how IDs store information. Arguably the most important feature of the modern ID and driver’s license is the PDF417 barcode.

This strip contains a plethora of information, such as:

• name
• address
• date of birth (used for age verification)
• height
• weight
• etc.

These fields are all categorized as PII – information that can be used to identify a person. The vast majority of ID scanning solutions and ID scanning hardware utilize the 2D barcode to verify age and identity. The 2D barcode is also used for parsing IDs into software such as CRMs or POS, since each field can be uniquely identified. By scanning the 2D barcode on the back of the ID, ID scanning software scan instantly read this PII data, check the date of birth against today’s date, and check the ID expiration date.

Most IDs also feature a 1D Barcode that contains the state code and ID number. And some still contain a magstripe, though this is considered an inferior symbology and is being phased out in many states.

What does it mean for a fake ID to “scan”?

A fake ID is considered “scannable” if it can be scanned by 2D barcode scanning/parsing software. So all that is required for a scannable fake ID to work is for the barcode to be formatted in a readable way. This is fairly easy. A fake ID manufacturer can use an existing ID with a working barcode and add new information to the front of the ID. Or they can make an exact copy of a barcode they know works. Or they can work backwards to decrypt an existing barcode, and then rebuild the barcode using desired personal information.

These are three easy, common ways to make a scannable fake ID with little effort. Since creating a scannable PDF417 barcode is so low effort, and ID scanning technology is so ubiquitous today, almost all modern fake IDs will scan. A fake ID with information stored in the barcode will parse and populate the same way as a real ID.

2D barcode security checks

Recently, advances in AI have allowed us to perform checks on the barcode itself that help look for “easter eggs” that can indicate an ID is fraudulent, or at least suspicious. A few generic examples of these “tells”:

• In Idaho, they use the code “BWN” to indicate that the ID holder has brown eyes. If we scan an Idaho ID that is using “BRN” in the field for Eye Color, that is a good indication that the ID is fake.
• Different states have different orders in which they store the information in the ID. Some states may store first name, last name. Some states may store last name, first name. We know the correct order for each state and so can flag IDs which have data formats that do not conform to known standards.

Because we feed hundreds of thousands of IDs through our ID scanning software on a monthly basis, we train our AI to detect patterns in the 2D barcode and catch these micro-flaws. Our software are performing hundreds of 2D barcode security checks on every ID that is scanned, allowing us to catch some fakes even without authentication hardware.

Matching data on the front and back of an ID

Almost equally as important as the PDF417 barcode is all the information printed in the front of the ID card. On a legitimate ID, all of the information stored in the PDF417 and 1D barcode will match the information printed on the front of the card. This is another way fake IDs can be detected.

When criminals that create fake IDs market their IDs, they obviously want to market them as “scannable fake IDs”, because without that function, they might as well be useless. For that reason, when these “creators” purchase fake IDs to forge for other people, they often buy real IDs that have already been encoded with information in the PDF417 and 1D barcodes. They simply reprint the information on the front of the card to match the, often underage, person buying the fake ID.

So how can you tell if the information doesn’t match? This is where ID Scanning technology comes into play. By using an ID scanner, a business can read the information that has been encoded in the barcode while simultaneously reading the data on the front of the ID. By using OCR (Optical Character Recognition), the software compares the picture and characters on the front of the ID to the information encoded in the back. If those bits of information don’t match up, the ID is almost always fake.

Front/back matching is one way to catch low-effort fake IDs that are just re-using an existing 2D barcode.

Ultraviolet and infrared light examination

In addition to the Barcode vs OCR comparison, another security measure that can be harder to forge is the addition of ultraviolet markings on the ID. Ultraviolet security features are specialized to hide state specific text and images on an ID that can only be seen in specific lighting. Cue infrared, ultraviolet, and white light scanning.

A scanner like the E-Seek M500, in conjunction with our software, scans the ID at three different light wavelengths in order to check for the addition of these security features. If the scanner/software does not detect the UV Ink, the ID in question is likely a fake.

Hologram and watermark checks

Holograms and/or Watermarks can be one final test of an IDs legitimacy. This feature creates a 3D effect that can be seen on flat surfaces. To create this effect, the image is made using nanostructures that will refract light in a specific way, thus making the 2D image appear 3D. This feature is hard for criminals to forge because this technique can only be done using highly specialized lab equipment. That being said, it is possible to create a simple hologram, but again, this is where a hardware and software combination comes into play. The E-Seek M500 can use the UV light previously discussed and look at the hologram in detail. So much so, that when combined with our software, it can tell you if the hologram is the wrong one for the state in question.

Results of a fake ID being scanned

How a fake ID scans depends fully on the quality of the ID itself. Many fake IDs use low quality barcodes that mean the ID can be detected with a simple scan. Other, more sophisticated fake IDs may require the use of ID authentication for detection. Typically, once the ID scanning software has detected any indication that an ID is suspicious, it will serve the business a pop-up letting them know that additional validation is recommended.

Below are examples of the pop-ups inside VeriScan that alert the business to a fake ID.

If the ID has a barcode, the software will parse whatever information it can from the ID’s barcode. However, many barcodes are not formatted properly, and fields like “eye color” or “address” can end up in the Last Name field. VeriScan software easily flags these errors to alert our customers that an ID is a fake. Many fake ID manufacturers that purport to sell “scannable fake IDs” only guarantee that the barcode will work. They don’t guarantee that the barcode will sync fields correctly to fool ID scanning software.

If you’re interested in learning more about how IDScan.net can help protect your business against fake ID use, be sure to contact one of our industry experts.