Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/02/02/id_retail_fail/

Retailers fooled by fake and borrowed IDs

Back in the day you just had to remember someone else's birthday

By John Oates

Posted in Legal, 2nd February 2010 09:05 GMT

Kids in the UK are experts in using fake IDs bought online or using someone else's documents to get their hands on age-restricted products.

Half of those surveyed have bought alcohol while underage and one in five have bought knives. One in five kids use fake ID cards bought online mostly to get into pubs and clubs.

More usual is borrowing a card from someone else to get served in a pub - 78 per cent of over-18s said they had lent identity documents to younger kids.

Some 42 per cent of those surveyed said they'd used a parent's credit card to buy booze, cigarettes or adult DVDs online.

Young people in the UK have mostly not heard of the government Proof of Age Standards Scheme - which is meant to provide a kitemark for the various cards aimed at teenagers. A whopping 71 per cent had not heard of the scheme at all and only four per cent of those surveyed would get such a card.

The government is selling national ID cards as a way for 16 to 24 year olds to prove their age when making age-restricted purchases.

The survey of 1,200 kids was carried out on behalf of Clarity Commerce. ®