Massachusetts fake ID seizures hit highest level in two decades

Boston bars compare patrons’ licenses to their phones to catch fakes

The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission reported that the number of fake identification cards confiscated statewide last year reached its highest level in at least two decades, according to The Wall Street Journal. Boston bars have responded by comparing patrons’ driver licenses against the Apple IDs on their phones, restricting entry to Massachusetts IDs, and rejecting out-of-state passports — measures aimed at protecting liquor licenses that are capped at about 1,600 citywide and can cost more than $500,000 each.

The escalation reflects a combination of postpandemic drinking patterns, more realistic counterfeit identification, and Boston’s distinctive alcohol regime. The city’s “Happy Hour” regulation limits drink discounting and precludes bars from delivering more than two drinks to a person at one time. Criminal-defense lawyer Joe Serpa attributes Boston’s unusually strict local rules to “the ghosts of our Puritanical past,” referencing centuries-old laws that dictated how to conduct public and private life.

Bars near Fenway Park have asked patrons to display the Apple ID on their phones so staff can confirm the name matches the license, The Wall Street Journal reported. Students responded by changing the names on their devices. Other establishments have adopted a simpler rule: only Massachusetts IDs accepted.

That policy caught Scott Ogilvie, a 26-year-old visitor from Scotland, on a trip in April to attend a Celtics basketball game. His United Kingdom license was rejected at half a dozen bars in one night. The next night he brought his passport to Sullivan’s Tap, a West End sports bar, and was still turned away by the bouncer, who told him, “Not today. We’re not serving you today.”

Tighter enforcement has filtered into the courts. Serpa said his caseload has surged in recent years. While most students end up without formal penalties or a permanent record, judges often make a point of warning underage defendants about felony charges and inclusion on the no-fly list. “Their entire future kind of comes crashing down on them for a minute,” Serpa said.

Gavin Holt, a Boston College biology junior, learned that firsthand in October, when he was called before Boston Municipal Court over a party some of his housemates had thrown. Holt said he was not at the party, but he and a dozen others faced noise complaints and disorderly-house charges. Three months and thousands of dollars in legal fees later, Holt received 20 hours of community service and was required to write letters of apology to the school and the neighborhood. He called the episode “an extra weight on my shoulders that I was carrying throughout the semester.”

Tighter enforcement has reshaped the economics of running a bar in a college city. Two Saints Tavern owner Chuck Hitchcock learned in 2024 that the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission had opened an investigation into his establishment, ultimately finding nine counts of possession of an alcoholic beverage by a person under 21. Northeastern student Kathryn Sanseviro said the bar had been a known destination for underage drinkers and that she was aware of students slipping $10 bills under fake IDs so bouncers would appear on camera to be checking them while letting patrons slip past.

Hitchcock said he had deployed a fake-ID scanner at the door but could not control all of his employees; the bouncer who let in patrons with fake IDs was fired. He added that realistic counterfeits had become easier to obtain — “a mouse click away and a bitcoin payment,” he said — putting what he called an impossible burden on bars to spot them. Two Saints Tavern closed this spring after Hitchcock decided not to renew the lease, citing increased insurance costs. His newest venture is a family restaurant, which he described as an attempt “to get away from the possibility of underage students.”

Boston’s restrictions have also eased during major events. During the recent World Cup, longstanding last-call limits were loosened: Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill temporarily extending alcohol service to 3 a.m. local time through the end of July. Some city councilors and state senators are now lobbying to make the extension permanent.