About 60 smiling faces hang behind the counter of André Mansour's Spartan Spirits. The "wall of shame" exhibits the manufactured fake IDs collected during the years.
"Fake ID? Don't even try," is written in bright marker on the showcase.
"These are all created from computers," said Mansour, a manager whose family owns the liquor store located at 221 Ann St. "About one out of three (IDs) are those. More people are likely to use other people's IDs."
Next, Mansour ushers to the "file" — a small bucket stuffed with one-time genuine IDs passed along to younger folks. Each has "Do not give back" etched in permanent marker on it.
Mansour and other liquor-selling establishments' employees typically see a rise in fake IDs after spring break, East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said.
"We usually see more of them," Wibert said in an e-mail. "Down in Florida, people manufacture and sell them."
East Lansing police Officer Chris Shadduck, who works as the liaison between ELPD and licensed alcohol establishments, said he hasn't worked in his position long enough to compare the amount of fake IDs confiscated after spring break, but said he's seen at least 1,000 throughout 2006.
"I've gotten quite a bit, but not all of them are fake per se," Shadduck said. "Most of them are someone else's ID."
Bryan Allen, manager and bartender at The Landshark, 101 E. Grand River Ave., said bouncers there are paid $10 for each ID they confiscate during the night. The Landshark has gone from seeing about eight IDs Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, to about two or three, he said.
After spring break, Allen said he saw a slight increase in fake IDs when about 15 were confiscated during the weekend.
Both Mansour and Allen said the first thing the look for with IDs is where they're from. Allen said out-of-state bar-goers must show a second ID; Mansour uses an ID checking guide to make sure the IDs are legitimate.
For in-state IDs, Mansour uses a scanner to validate them, while Allen looks for more physical signs of fakes.
"If it's fake, the part on the top that says 'Michigan' will be a different color — more greenish," he said.
Allen also said a ridge is apparent on genuine IDs, but fake IDs either won't have the ridge or someone will try and create one with key marks, but it makes the fake more obvious.
Allen said he's seen less fake IDs confiscated at The Landshark during the past few years — partly due to a more proactive stance toward catching them.
"A couple years ago, I think we had a reputation for an easier bar to get into," he said. "Now, we're kind of a tougher bar to get into."
