Photo Illustration I The Daily Mississippian
Mic Brown is the manager of Oxford bar The Corner, and he says he is fighting an ongoing battle with fake IDs.
“We see them every night,” Brown said. “Spotting IDs has gotten a lot harder. Kids have gotten really good fakes, or someone who looks like them. It’s so hard that cops can’t even spot them sometimes.”
One would think that obtaining a high quality fake ID would be difficult, but Brown said it is just the opposite.
“You can get them off the Internet — one hundred bucks gets you two IDs,” Brown said. “And coming out of China right now there are some really, really expert fake IDs.”
Junior psychology major Kacie Cross and sophomore speech pathology major Taylor Brown both said that while they have never used fake IDs, it likely would not be difficult.
“It is easy to get a fake ID,” Cross said. “I know lots of people who have them, and who have sold old IDs to younger girls.”
Brown admitted to thinking about the $100 for two IDs out of China, but she changed her mind when she weighed the risks.
“When I was considering getting one,” she said, “the main website that all my friends had ordered theirs off of got shut down so I just decided against it.”
Cross said she was also worried she would get caught.
“The biggest reason I didn’t use one is because I didn’t and don’t see the consequences outweighing the perks of having a fake ID,” Cross said. “I would have gotten in huge trouble at home.”
Mic Brown said he and his staff get a big kick out of some of the fake IDs they confiscate.
“We’ve had some where the laminate is totally bubbled,” Brown said. “We’ve had a guy who gave an ID that said he was 25 and he looked about 12.”
According to Brown, The Corner has seen a friend’s ID from another school, an ID belonging to an ex-girlfriend, and a Corner bar employee’s ID come though the doors.
“We take them,” Brown said. “And we get some good laughs out of them.”
Brown said that, now, states are coming out with IDs that are harder to fake and could make it easier for kids to get caught.
“Mississippi has a pretty easy ID (to spot as fake),” he said. “There are certain holograms that show up and certain numbers that match up on people’s birth dates, so they can spot those.”
So what do you do if you’re not 21?
Brown said just don’t drink, and he’s happy to have you in The Corner.
“You can go to a bar at 18,” Brown said. “We don’t tell you to stay out — you’re welcome to come in.”
Cross agreed that going out with friends responsibly is worthwhile.
“Go to the bars that are 18 and up,” Cross said. “You can have a great time and hang out with your older friends.”
