I had a fake ID, and it being scannable was a huge selling point. Convenience stores all scan, and don't seem to care if you look underage. I was only turned down two or three times, usually at bars and restaurants.
The first thing I do with a real ID is widen the reference bars on the sides so the checkout scanner can't read it. If they want my birthday they can type it in manually, I don't need all my info in some store database.
At 7-11, they will not - cannot - do this. Their pos system requires a scannable license, and will block even a 50 year old from buying age restricted items. N=3 stores for me, and only tested in NY.
Interestingly, I've never had anyone scan my DL barcode. About 10% of them look at my ID and manually enter it. The rest look at my gray beard, ask me for my birthdate, and key in whatever random plausible date I give them. :) (There's one store where the gray beard is enough and they remotely approve me at the self checkout, no questions asked. The misery of it is that I only buy NA beer and that still requires an ID.)
The flex of the plastic is always a good way to check. Although I've held a fake NY ID and a legit one at the same time and could not tell any difference. Even did a double blind test.
Weirdly when I first got my California DL I thought it felt fake compared to my home state because it was so much thinner. Maybe it’s better for the environment.
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