Need a fake ID? There was an app for that, until it was pulled from the App Store earlier this week. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey urged Apple to remove the DriversEd iPhone and iPad app, which allowed users to pose for photos and create fake drivers' licenses. At his request, the app is no longer available from the App Store.
The Senator said in a statement: “I urged Apple to take the responsible step of removing this dangerous app, and I’m pleased that the app is no longer available in the store."
Created by DriversEd.com, the app was intended as a fun game to see what it would look to like to have a driver's license from any of the 50 states. However, critics urged that the app could be used as a tool for identity theft -- the templates could be printed and laminated to create a counterfeit ID that looks like the real thing.
In a statement released on Monday, DriversEd.com defended the product, stating, “'Driver License' app cannot be mistaken for a fake ID because the design elements deliberately do not correspond to government issued ID."
While fake IDs have pretty much always been a concern amongst police and parents -- especially in college towns -- it seems that their use hasn't lessened over the years. Diamondback Online, The University of Maryland's student newspaper, reported that 14 students were recently busted by the police for underage drinking in two bar checks. The students had gotten into the bars using fake IDs. And ABC15 News recently reported that last year in Arizona, the Tempe Police Department confiscated over 2,000 fake IDs along Mill Avenue, a street lined with college bars frequented by Arizona State University students.