Some fake Driving Licences are not detected by ID scanners, and many will have UV markings, so they can’t be detected as fakes with UV lights.
You can make some of the following manual checks:
- Check the image and date of birth with the person standing in front of you.
- Look for raised parts – Is the surname, category and the date over the photo raised? Run your thumbnail over them or look at them at an angle to check. They may scratch off with your nail if fake.
- Check the holograms. On the front there is a steering wheel, road and speedometer with a needle that ‘moves’. On the back there is the person’s face alternating with the date of expiry. With some fakes, the face does not disappear as it should when the date appears.
- Read what is actually written on the card – Does it say Driving Licence or Provisional Driving Licence? It should not say Driving Permit etc.
- Is the card too thick, too rigid, too flexible?
Some of the most common faults with fake Driving Licences include:
- Incorrect image of the flag.
- Wrong words across the top, for example, ‘National Identification’ or ‘International Driving Permit’.
- The Licence is in a different language.
- Plain or simple-patterned background.
- Photograph in the wrong place.
- No signature or an incorrect signature.
- Fake holograms.
- Information in the wrong places.
Do you best! Even the Authorities are taken in by fake ID docs sometimes.
If in doubt, refuse the sale.
