Sacramento State students find many ways to save money, but some students have taken frugality to a new level by turning to counterfeiting. University Transportation and Parking Services have issued at least 29 citations for students using fraudulent permits this semester.—

If caught using a counterfeit permit, the penalty is $113. Last semester, 176 students were issued fines for using counterfeit permits.—

“I’ve thought about doing it before,” said Sarah Valerio, a senior and graphics design major at Sac State. Valerio admits to going so far as placing a permit into her scanner, but said she never completed the task.—

“The cost of permits are going up every semester,” said Valerio, citing the rising fees of permits as her justification for considering the act.—

“UTAPS staff is trained to know a valid parking permit from a invalid parking permit,” said Nancy Fox, manager of UTAPS. “Fraudulent proof mechanisms are built into the design of the parking permit.”—

One of those mechanisms is the reflective tape used to create the large letter “S” on semester permits. —

“You really can’t get around that reflective material,” said Richard Pratt, who teaches graphic design at Sac State. —

Mario Estioko, assistant professor of the Graphics Design Department at Sac State, also pointed to the reflective material as being difficult to reproduce.—

“That’s something that an ink jet (printer) cannot do,” said Estioko, referring to the reflective sticker. Estioko said that a scanner could create a rough duplicate of a permit, but the copy probably wouldn’t be able to pass a careful inspection.—

The State Hornet’s graphic department was able to reproduce a crude duplicate of a student-parking permit. The process took an hour and a half using basic computer programs. —

The cost of home equipment has made it easier for counterfeiters to reproduce documents that are very similar to the original.—

“It used to be you had to pay $500 to $1,000 for a scanner,” Pratt said. The cheapest scanner listed on Office Max’s Web site costs $49.98. —

Yet, a duplicate’s success often depends on scrutiny from those charged with the duties of enforcement. —

“How closely would a parking enforcement person actually walk to check that?” asked Estioko concerning how thoroughly parking enforcement verifies permits. Weekly and daily parking permits do not have the special reflective tape. Estioko said that reproducing these permits would be easier then making a semester permit.—

With the affordable cost of scanners and software used for reproducing documents, fraud has become a growing business. Not only can parking permits be duplicated, but crafty graphic artists are reproducing items such as identification cards and money. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education launched a campaign to help better inform college students about fraudulent duplication of records and identity theft. —

The Internet has also helped to contribute to the growing problem of counterfeiting. Some Web sites offer users the exact specifications on matching up fonts from different official documents. —

UTAPS contends that they have the issue of counterfeit permits under control.”It is an issue that we are efficiently dealing with,” Fox said.