Following up recent incidents in which criminals passed stolen checks and counterfeit bills on Whidbey Island, a Langley business owners meeting with law enforcement showed the value of being healthily suspicious of customers.
Keying in on what they characterized as South Whidbey’s small-town laxity on requiring identification from shoppers who write checks for their purchases, Langley Police officers and Island County Sheriff’s personnel encouraged shopkeepers, restaurateurs and other business owners to check ID without exceptions.
Speaking to about three dozen people in the meeting room at St. Hubert Catholic Church, Langley Officer Laura Price said making ID checks part of the shopping process is a matter of consistency. She said shoppers will get used to the checks — even welcome them — if they are the norm.
“It’s OK to say, ‘May I see your driver’s license?’ ” she said.
Once both shoppers and criminals looking for an easy mark know that South Whidbey merchants ask for ID, bad checks could become a thing of the past, Price said.
“We’re not going to let you off this island without checking on you,” she said.
Her comments brought a number of knowing nods from people in the room, as well as a somewhat tricky question from Freeland Cafe owner Petite Bryant-Hunt. Because her business does not require payment up front, she said, catching a bad check after a meal is served does not stop the crime of check fraud in time.
“What recourse does a restaurant owner have?” she asked. “The merchandise is already in their stomach.”
Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley had a quick answer.
“Call 911 and we’ll pick them up and give them another free meal in jail,” he said.
Also speaking to the crowd was state liquor control agent Blair Smith. He gave a quick lesson on spotting fake drivers licenses and other false IDs — all of which can mask a purchase with a stolen check or credit card with an air of legitimacy.
He cautioned business owners not to accept ID cards claiming the owner is a “state resident.” Those cards are generally fakes, marketed on the streets of large cities. The best IDs to take, he said, are drivers licenses and identification cards issued by the Washington State Department of Licensing.
But even this is fraught with risks, especially where the state’s old laminated licenses are concerned. Smith said people looking to fake their age or use another person’s ID commonly fake the photos or information on the cards. The state’s new licenses, which are not laminated, are harder to fake.
“We think it’s a better license,” he said.
Both Hawley and Langley Police Chief Bob Herzberg encouraged merchants to call 911 any time they suspect taking a bad check, counterfeit bill or stolen credit card.
The also instructed them to train their employees to document all check sales by initialing checks. Without that initial, it is unlikely that the Island County Prosecutor’s Office will pursue a fraud case, Herzberg said.
