# Flying without a photo ID? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** vacation-travel\ **Created:** [July 15, 2024, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-without-a-photo-id/1004256 "2024-07-15T10:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-without-a-photo-id/1004256/61 "2024-07-22T13:36:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > difficult-to-counterfeit cards Years ago a friend was searching her daughter’s room and found a driver’s license that showed her being 21, when in reality she was 17. She showed me the license and I couldn’t tell it wasn’t real. We went to a friend’s bar and showed it to him. He insisted it was real, using a UV light, magnifying glass, etc. I guess difficult-to-counterfeit =/=impossible-to-counterfeit. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-without-a-photo-id/1004256/62 "2024-07-22T16:34:38Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I guess difficult-to-counterfeit =/=impossible-to-counterfeit. Counterfeit and fraudulent aren’t the same thing. A DMV employee taking $100 to print a fake ID on real stock is not unheard of. In the same vein, we had someone steal a business cheque we had sent out and alter the payee. We got our money back because it was a fraudulent altered but genuinely issued cheque. A fake cheque would not have had the same protections. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-without-a-photo-id/1004256/63 "2024-07-22T18:19:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Years ago a friend was searching her daughter’s room and found a driver’s license that showed her being 21, when in reality she was 17. > > She showed me the license and I couldn’t tell it wasn’t real. We went to a friend’s bar and showed it to him. He insisted it was real, using a UV light, magnifying glass, etc. > > I guess difficult-to-counterfeit =/=impossible-to-counterfeit. When is “years ago”? It is trivial for someone with a 2024 desktop scanner and desktop publishing app to recreate an altered version of a 1990s driver’s license. It’s very hard bordering on impossible to use the same tools to counterfeit a 2024 DL from a reasonably modern state. Anything, even US $100 bills, is counterfeit-able given enough resources. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-without-a-photo-id/1004256/64 "2024-07-22T19:16:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > When is “years ago”? 22 years ago would be my guesstimate. Before I met my gf, but after the bar we stopped at was remodeled. The owner of the bar was amazed. He’d been (and still is) involved in running a bar forever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-without-a-photo-id/1004256.md?page=3)