Photographing and scanning IDs

What if you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time? Something goes down at the club while you happen to be there... you’re able to slip out unscathed and unnoticed. But then investigators show up at your house to ask you what you saw, or you get a subpoena in the mail to testify as a witness because the club has a record of you being there along with all your info. Unlikely, perhaps. But it would be enough reason for me to stay away.

For me, it's 99% a deal breaker. I 100% won't go on my own, but I have been with buddies and just bit the bullet and let them scan it. It's not about the idea of a record of me being at a titty bar. It's about the poor security of those devices, and the sheer ignorance and recklessness of how I'm sure the data is being managed. I don't want my all the information on my ID in some database because the jackass manager has a copy of it on his computer and is back there looking at porn or browsing backpage for strippers to hire.


In Florida, I don't believe it's legal for them to store the information for that purpose. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/inde… I'm not a lawyer, but here's some relevant sections. ** means its my comment

** So they're explicitly allowed to swipe it to prove your age**
(2) Except as provided in subsection (6), a private entity may not swipe an individual’s driver license or identification card, except for the following purposes:
(b) To verify the individual’s age when providing an age-restricted good or service.

** but they're not allowed to store or share the information on it if that's why they swiped it**
(3) A private entity that swipes an individual’s driver license or identification card under paragraph (2)(a) or paragraph (2)(b) may not store, sell, or share personal information collected from swiping the driver license or identification card.

I stopped going to the Cadillac Lounge for a few reasons, but one of them was scanning IDs. Whatever they say, you have no idea how often (or if) that data is wiped. You also don't know how well it's wiped. Plus, I just don't trust strip club owners or managers all that much in general.

So, for me, if there are comparable or better options, then I'll avoid clubs that scan IDs.

I too stopped the CL trip due to scanning. When RI Dolls scanned, they made an exception for regulars, so I kept on going. I admit I broke my rule and let Desires scan me. Despite my pro privacy stance it was in my best interests to break my rule, so I did.

“Trust me “

Just like plumbers who advertise they are “ the honest plumber”, the more they proclaim their morality, the less I trust them.

I stopped going to Capital Cabaret in Raleigh, NC when they started scanning and taking photographs because their process was sloppy. If it was a one and done real (used to travel all the time) then I usually just went with it. If I'm in home territory I'd have to think it over if they scanned every time.

@Dolfan
That all sounds good, but just because it's written into the law doesn't mean they won't be careless, get hacked even if they weren't careless, or flat out just ignore the law. Think about it... selling pussy in the VIP is also illegal in most places.

It’s not an absolute dealbreaker for me. I’ve never heard of an actual incident of scanned strip club IDs used for nefarious purposes. But, still, I don’t like the idea of it and am somewhat inclined to avoid such places when I have alternatives.

has anybody been a victim as a result of these strip club ID card scans? i always had to have my ID scanned every time i'd go to this strip club in the bronx. so far i haven't noticed anything suspicious. and the last time i was scanned was in 2016.

#misterorange, I'm not suggesting they won't do it. I'm merely pointing out the fact that it's not legal for them to do it. The idea being that if they're breaking that law so openly, its crazy to think they're going to be careful with the data.

^^ Exactly. They can shove that card scanner up their ass. That's a 100% "NO" for me.

I wouldn't do it. Only time I've seen them do it is when people pay with cards. Its too invasive especially from a sleazy business like that

How about a passport, passport card,green card to present?

At first it wasn't a big deal since I don' have an S.O. - but w/ time it did bother me having a strip-club have my personal-info which can be used for a lot of things - now I'm kinda on the fence b/c I assume their motivation is to keep the club safer; i.e. if you are a thug/criminal then perhaps you won't hit that club or at least not pull some shit where they can track you down (although a lot of thugs don't give a f***) - so given that I don't have the S.O. issue, and perhaps it making the club safer; I'd probably capitulate especially if it's a club I like to hit - but of the many SoFlo clubs the only I recall visiting that scans IDs is Showgirls in South Miami which I hit sparingly (used to hit-it more a few years ago but at that time they were not scanning; and at times I'd hit on dayshift where I don't recall them scanning) - I've also recently finally got-around to putting a freeze on my credit which I assume helps if someone ever got their hands on my personal info so they wouldn't be able to get a loan or credit-cards w/ my stolen-info but the SC-scanning thing was not the motivation.

I let one club scan my ID one time after I drove 70 miles one way to go there. I regretted doing it but it was several years ago and nothing ever came out of it but that was the first and last time, I will never ever give any club my ID again.

Deal breaker for me. I don't like my info put into potentially more data bases than absolutely necessary. Can you trust average strip club employee to not turn around and sell your personal info ?

I don’t want to sound overly paranoid - but I don’t trust a strip club to safeguard my identity. An ID scan is a deal breaker.

The last thing I want is a glossy mailing coming to my house with all the specials offered by the local Tug and Rub!

I used to worry about this more, but not so much anymore. I'm not doing anything illegal just by entering a club. Also, who would really want this information anyway? Who could someone even sell it to?

I guess I'm not as concerned about someone hacking a club system because I just don't see the value in the information. Credit card numbers, bank account data and social security numbers certainly have value, but just a home address and state license number? Not so much.

It is becoming like so many other things in life that are largely disliked, but mostly tolerated. I applaud those that turn around and walk away. If everyone did this, the invasive ID scans wouldn't last even one shift.

Club staff are sleazy. Anyone working there sell your info to ppp or unemployment scammers. Info for fake ids. Use it to run a background check on you if you're a regular or they don't like you. Its too invasive and gives sketchy people power over you.

I worked in retail banking for over 15 years, at various levels of sales and management positions, and I've been involved with investigating more financial scams and ID theft situations than I can remember.

There are different types of ID theft with varying degrees of consequences. Your credit card becomes compromised, and some asshole goes on a $3,000 shopping spree - that's small potatoes. You report it, C/C company reimburses you and issues a new card, and it's their problem whether they can or even want to pursue the criminal.

If they steal your bank account info it can be more serious and more $$$ involved. Your bank may work with you and eventually make you whole again, but it can be a long and arduous process. And if they believe you were careless with your info they could refuse to pay you back unless and/or until they recover the lost funds.

One of the worst kinds of ID fraud is when they gather enough information to actually "become you" in a sense. This is where you hear stories about people being sent to collections or even have a lien placed on their home because there is a $300,000 equity loan they never knew about, it's fully drawn down, and no payments have ever been made. Or they could apply for a passport in your name. Or they might commit a crime, get released on bail, and then you get arrested on a failure to appear and charged with the crime they committed. They could file a fraudulent tax return, collect a refund by direct deposit to a bank account they opened in your name, and be gone before the IRS starts giving you trouble. There's really no end to the possibilities. Here you're dealing with problems that will require legal representation and could take a year or more to resolve.

Criminals who are successful in a "total takeover" of your identity don't get the information they need from just one source. Driver license info is one piece of the puzzle, and often the first step in obtaining other things they need like a credit card, bank account, and social security number. They will even study your social media profiles to gather information about your work history, where you were born, family members, etc. These people are smart, tech savvy, detail oriented and ruthless. I've seen cases where creating false identities for people is their whole business. They even have partners working at the DMV who can issue a fully legit driver license as long as they have the correct information to input to the system.

Technology, management information systems and fraud prevention techniques have come a long way and continue to evolve, but ID scammers have also become more sophisticated.

So no, I won't be handing over my driver license to some palooka with a scanning machine.

Thanks, misterorange. Very thought-provoking and well-informed post.

"I've seen cases where creating false identities for people is their whole business. They even have partners working at the DMV who can issue a fully legit driver license as long as they have the correct information to input to the system."

^Isn't that what Joel Greenberg, Matt Gaetz's tax collector friend, was doing?

It’s interesting that paranoia sets in when it’s a strip club asking to scan. But when adding sensitive information to social media (who openly admit to selling your info) there is no hesitation.

Kinda like the anti-vaxer who drinks himself silly or smokes two packs a day or imbibes in street drugs then claims “I’m not putting poison in my body”.

Scammers can get your info from a thousand different sources so unless you are ready to lock down every other leak don’t sweat too much over a scan. You’ve probably been scanned by a credit card skimmer or a data breach somewhere anyways.

You should never use real bank jnfo on social media either. Get a prepaid card

ID scan is a deal breaker for me. No way I'm going to have my personal info (DOB, address, DL #) in some strip club database. Door guy's typical explanation for ID scan has been 1 of the following: (1) It's for security reasons in case you turn out to be an annoying customer, and don't worry because the club purges all system info monthly (which I don't buy), or (2) It's to verify your presence if you use credit card to reduce problem of charges later getting disputed.

Doing 1 of the following has gotten ID scan waived except for once and I then walked away and went to a different club: (1) Slip the door guy a $5 bill, or (2) State I use cash only and not credit cards in SCs, then flash my cash. I've been surprised how grateful the door guys have been to get $5 - in some of those cases, I've then become a regular and hand the same guy $5 as I pass the threshold which most often ends up with door guy turning to the cover fee collector lady and saying to let me in with no cover.

My position on no ID scan was reinforced by: The only time ever used a credit card in a club was to pay for 1 round of drinks where I was running low on cash and wanted to get dances - club that I was a regular at took my credit card and also scanned by ID, and 3 days later my credit card got frauded and had to deal with massive hassle of card # getting changed and re-setting all my autopays on that credit card. Ya, I understand that ID scan at entry doesn't automatically lead to identity theft, but I'm still unwilling to do it based in part on that experience. If I were traveling and in a 1-club town and ID scan was required and I was desperate to go, then maybe I'd make a spur of moment exception, but otherwise no.

In most areas I've heard about, some clubs scan IDs and some don't. The clubs that scan IDs would have to be 10x better than the ones that don't, for me to consider them. That said, I'm single, so not worrying about some of the (admittedly lower-probability) things married guys might worry about -- e.g., something goes down at the club, detectives show up to your place to interview you as a witness. But the identity theft angle is worse, especially with so many places using DOB as an identifier. If you and your buddies pile on to complain about it in yelp reviews, etc., at least it gives club mgmt something to think about.

Still, while I wouldn't go to a club that does ID scans if I had a choice of a non-ID-scan club, if I lacked that choice, I'd just deal with it rather than not SC at all. SF nightshift is getting closer and closer to that situation; not sure if Gold Club is doing ID scans at night but if it is, there's just little choice at this point for nightshift (The best clubs don't do ID scans during the day, so no worries there)

ID scan is a deal breaker for me too. Even though it’s been several decades since I’ve been legal to drink, I have considered getting a fake I’d with a fake name and address just for those clubs with scanners.

Never been asked to have my ID scanned to get into a club.

Closest I've seen to this is when I had a favorite dancer show up right when I was leaving a club after having spent all the cash I had brought with me and I decided to do a VIP session with her and paid with my debit card. The club manager said they needed to xerox my drivers license and keep it with the receipt because they had had some issues with people disputing the charges in the past.

I work as a fraud investigator for a credit card company so I had mixed feelings about them doing this. From a personal standpoint it felt like the club getting too much of my info but from the perspective of my job I thought it was a good way for them to fight a disputed charge. I went ahead and did it because I always enjoyed VIP sessions with her but it just reaffirmed my policy not to use a credit card at a club under normal circumstances.

If I were asked for my license to be scanned going into a club when I wasn't planning to pay with a card I doubt I would do it. If there were no other clubs around without the scanning I would probably go ahead and let them because I value naked women more than my privacy.

I wouldn't go the fake ID route mentioned above because I assume it is illegal in most places to have a fraudulent version of a government issued ID like a drivers license.

->@igbDamned: “I have considered getting a fake I’d with a fake name and address just for those clubs with scanners.”

Now that’s a good idea. I’m gonna get me a McLuvin fake ID.

A couple of weeks ago I got shocked at the Goldrush in Atlanta when the outside bouncer asked to see my I.D. It's been so long that I don't even remember the last time. I just looked at him and said "You're Kidding?" He said "OK you can go in but you will have to show your I.D. to use a credit card".

I haven’t seen a ton of ID scans only in Phoenix and San Francisco from what I remember but it wouldn’t stop me from going to a club.

^ in some of the black-clubs I hit on the rare-occasion I visit at night I've been asked to show my ID (not on dayshift) - I "assume" it's b/c they don't want some criminal thug that may not even have ID to be in the club but IDK

I first ran into this at a local bar about 10 years ago. It wasn't a strip club and they could only scan driver's license sized ID's at the time. I was a regular and got pissed at the bouncers that would follow the "rules". So, to get around this, I would bring my passport that was a valid ID that couldn't be scanned. The bastard rule follower finally gave up asking.

I don't care if anyone knows I was at a strip club so I wouldn't really let this stop me if I wanted to go in.

My dick made me do it.

My hesitation is less about having my identity stolen and more about them using my address to send me promo material. Someone posted about that happening. I think it was from Lust in WV where Endless Summer works (worked?). I went there and let them scan my ID because my dick wanted me to. There’s a club here in Baltimore that does it (Fantasies) and I go there every so often and let them scan my ID because of my dick. The only other place was HiLiter in Phoenix who did t every so often and the first time I went there I let them scan it. No way my dick was going to let me not go in there.

I’ve thought about getting a passport card and probably will when my passport next expires. I’ve also thought about getting a fake. I hadn’t thought about bribing the door guy. I’ll try that on my next trip when they want to scan it. I’m still mostly concerned about stuff being mailed to my house, though that is a decreasing risk and probably very minimal at this point because nobody bothers to send or read paper mail if they can help it. My identity has been stolen a few times. Credit card, debit card and most recently someone applied for unemployment in my name. I’ve grown to accept it’s part of the world these days and take basic precautions and corrective measures but still take the risks of letting them scan at clubs. Because of my dick.

A few guys mentioned obtaining fake ID to circumvent the scanners. You might find that rather difficult. This isn't the 80's where you could make one with a photo booth picture and an exacta knife. Those scanners don't just capture an image - they read the bar code information and store it as data. And just like anything you do on the internet, even if it's "deleted" it still exists somewhere.

^Most college students under 21 get online order fake IDs, cost in $50 to $100 range. The ones college students have shown me look legit, though I dunno if they have bar codes. Companies that do it are mostly offshore and accept forms of payment like Founder does here.

About 4 years ago, most (not sure if all) clubs in Denver began scanning IDs. I've been to at least five Denver clubs in those years, and had my drivers license scanned, at a guess, 100 times at those clubs. I have never received promos in the mail, had my identity stolen or been threatened with blackmail. I was nervous about it the first few times, but now I just consider it one of the things I have to do to get in a strip club.

Absolutely a deal breaker for me. One of the two clubs in Deland FL does that stopped going there as a result! Unacceptable !!!

when I used to frequent the Las Vegas clubs my drivers license was scanned literally every single time at every single club. as far as I know I never had any trouble because of it.

The fake ID's usually scan just fine. The barcodes aren't security features, they're data exchange features. The tools required to create valid barcodes are readily available. The higher end scanners can check the security features, but companies that make the scanners that strip clubs are using aren't really in the secure loop for that sorta thing so by the time they get the details on what to check for the fakes have them too. I wouldn't use those crappy fake ID's to try and get through customs, but to get into the local titty bar I'm sure its just fine.