Do your research Carmanites. Tony at Mel's isn't taking any prisoners this semester.

Do your research Carmanites. Tony at Mel’s isn’t taking any prisoners this semester.

Still waiting for that fake ID you ordered during NSOP? Frustrated at being the only one in your friend group not able to get into Mel’s? Well, don’t worry about that–Mel’s is sweaty anyway. But back to the IDs. Bwog dug up the deets on the downfall of the mainstream fake ID industry and is here to report.

If you have a fake ID, odds are you ordered it from IDGod. They’re arguably the most popular business from which to order IDs; they’re fast, decently priced, and reliably scannable. However, that is no longer the case. As of a few weeks ago, IDGod has officially been shut down by US Customs and Border Protection.

Cue the cries of freshmen all across the country.

The unravelling of ID God has been in the works for over a year. Reports of IDGod shipments seized by Customs have been popping up on the fake ID subreddit since June of 2015, and only more have poured in since then. The IDGod reddit user (Idg0d) has been suspended and the web domain through which IDGod used to place orders no longer exists; the link on their website sends you to a page that is “no longer found.” It appears that God really is dead. IDGod, that is.

Of course, all of this commotion begs the question… where the hell is that ID you ordered from IDGod that never showed up? There are a few possible explanations. The most likely is that your order got delegated to a different ID manufacturer. In fact, an anonymous independent fake ID maker in Seattle, WA said that he’s had to buy a second printer just to accommodate all of the orders he’s received that were pushed from IDGod.

However, not all of the up-and-coming ID manufacturers are as legit as IDGod. Many have used the implosion of IDGod to scam people desperate to get IDs as quickly as possible; they collect your money then either send you a very shitty ID or no ID at all. Be weary of these groups. Do your research when choosing a manufacturer. And by research I mean read lots of reddit/r/fakeid threads.

The collapse of IDGod has affected students all over the country, and some freshman right here at Columbia have been especially frustrated.

“I’m very confused and very pissed,” said one confused Carmanite. “We all ordered our IDs from IDGod during NSOP and they said it would take two weeks. It’s been over two months.”

Another anonymous first year has been head over heels in the IDGod mess since September. During the first week or two of classes, she organized a group order of over 30 students. However, only five of those 30 IDs have arrived.

“I have no idea where the rest of them are,” she said. “I’m definitely worried about a large shipment of fakes showing up at Wein now that I know that Customs is keeping a sharp eye out.”

The fallout of IDGod seems to have truly shaken up the semester for students looking to spend their weekends out at bars. Until another manufacturer steps up and acclaims the prestige once held by IDGod, it looks like freshman all over the country may just be SOL. (Shit Outta Luck. Or, Sober Outside Low. Probably both.)

Photo courtesy of Superbad