What to look for in a Fake ID site
Jan 17, 2012 by D. Campbell
There are some tell tale signs of a fake ID scam site, and I've listed a few of them below. 
There are also some positive signs to look for that indicate that the site is indeed a legitimate one.
Fake ID scams are just like any other scam on the internet, they use various tricks to lull you into a false sense of security to make you part with your hard earned money. As with every transaction on the internet, you should do your homework before sending off your money.
None of the below advice is 100% accurate and you have to come to your own conclusions as to whether a site is the real deal or not.
Just because a site has some negative indications as listed below does not mean they are a scam site - make up your own mind on this!
Positive indications
Sites that have one or more of these features are more likely to be trustworthy.
Sites that feature any of the below characteristics are less likely to be scammers :
Site is hosted on its own domain
If the site is hosted on its own name e.g. www.mikesfakeid.com, that is a good indication.
If a site is hosted on a free server like
www.piczo.com/johnsfakeid
or
webs.com/fakeid2012
Then it is most likely a scam site. If they can’t be bothered paying the £10 to register and host a site, then they are probably scammers.
Domain is registered to the UK or Europe
If you go to www.who.is, you can check who owns a website. All you do is paste in the domain name, e.g. bbc.com and press search.
You will the get the results for the domain :
A site that was registered long ago is more likely to be reliable as they have been in business for longer.
Accepts credit cards or cheques
Any site that accepts credit cards or cheques is guaranteed to deliver cards – in order to get a cheque or credit card cashing facility the site would have to go through a lot of security checks.
Accepts Paypal or Moneybookers
Any site that accepts paypal, moneybookers or online payment system (not Ukash) is likely legitimate as they would not be able to accept Paypal for long if they were not delivering goods.
Accepts cash to a UK address
If a site accepts cash to a UK address, they are most likely legitimate as there is a point of contact to receive the post.
Answers Email
If you send a site an email, and they answer it personally (not an automatic response), then this is a good indicator that they will deliver the cards. However, scammers may answer emails in order to get you to order – and then never answer your emails when you do not get your cards!
Online Order Tracking
A working online order system is a good sign, as the site has put effort into a developing the system.
Good Range of Designs
A wide range of designs shows that the site has made an effort to offer a good selection – scammers will typically sell only one card – usually the fake UK driving licence (pink card) or a few US fake licenses.
Negative Indications :
Site sells illegal fake ID like driving licences or passports
Any site selling illegal fake IDs – fake driving licences of any country, fake passports or visas, is 99% of the time going to take your money and run. It may be legal to sell fake driving permits as these do not exist in a legal sense.
Site is advertising on a message board
A lot of scammers drum up business on complaints boards or message boards, again, any site doing this is likely to be a rip-off.
Site is badly designed
This is a classic sign of a scam – if the site looks old and rarely updated, it’s probably a scam.
Site is registered overseas
Again, check the site with www.who.is – any site registered outside of the UK is going to be hard to track down if they rip you off.
Answers email with a stock reply
If you email them and you get a really quick response that has a long list of questions and answers is probably a scam – these are just autoresponse emails that are sent out automatically to give the impression that the site is offering good customer service.
Doesn’t answer email
If you never get a response, it might be the case that the site owners have abandoned it. Any money you send in the form of cash will just go to a dead end. This is why you should contact the site first if you have any doubts.
Site accepts only Western Union or Ukash
Western Union and Ukash are completely untraceable ways of sending and receiving money. If you send money via these two methods, and don’t get any cards in return, then you have no chance of getting it back.
Typically a scammer will ask you to send money by Western Union to a third party in China or the Middle East.