Websites offering fake proof-of-age cards shut down
Licensees have welcomed news that two websites offering children fake proof-of-age cards have been raided and forced to close down.
The sites, idlsource.net and nextdayid.com, have been shut down because they have been offering imitation Portman Group Prove It! cards to under-18s.
Drinks watchdog The Portman Group launched the proof-of-age card in 1990 for 18-25 year old adults to enable licensees and retailers to identify whether or not their customers were over 18. But like other cards, there has been a problem with website rackets offering fakes to underage youngsters for around £20 each.
The Portman Group's director Jean Coussins said: "These companies have set out knowingly to sell a fake proof-of-age card to children. It not only places young people at potential risk, but also risks undermining the efforts of licensees and the police who are working to reduce the problems caused by under-age drinking."
A spokesman said they had no way of knowing how many fake cards there were on the market as many go undetected. "As soon as we close one website down another one crops up," he added. "It's an ongoing process."
The news of the extent of this fake card industry comes at a time when the problem of underage drinking is getting worse. One study, conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that children as young as 13 were buying alcohol illegally and drinking to excess.
The foundation carried out a survey of 14,000 school pupils in England, Scotland and Wales and discovered that half of all 15 and 16-year-olds admitted downing five or more alcoholic drinks at a session and a quarter of all pupils aged 13 and 14 said they drank the same amount.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations' chief executive Tony Payne has written to Home Secretary David Blunkett asking for a government-funded national ID card to be introduced, but the government has said it is still considering the matter.
At the moment, licensees are awaiting the introduction of the nationally recognised PASS logo onto ID cards, which should make it easier for publicans to spot fake cards.
