Often in Fake ID Nick encounters authority figures in situations that should imply mutual trust, but repeatedly Nick discovers that these authorities cannot be trusted. The foremost authorities in Nick’s life, of course, are his parents—as a teenager, Nick should be able to rely on the people whose main job it is to protect and care for him. However, his father demonstrates from the beginning that he is untrustworthy. In each of the previous WITSEC placements, James engaged in illegal behavior that forced the family to relocate; in Stepton, James again disappears mysteriously at night, clearly up to something nefarious. Similarly, rather than making the best of the situation for Nick’s sake, Donna openly nurses a growing discontent with their circumstances and the desire to leave the witness program. Her bitterness at having to be sequestered in Stepton brings even more instability into Nick’s life. Nick works diligently to solve the mysteries of Whispertown and Eli’s murder before he is forced to depart with his mom. To his chagrin, Nick’s mother leaves without him, abandoning her son to escape her unhappiness.

Stepton’s local government officials and law enforcement officers are also deeply untrustworthy. Mayor Burke has been skimming millions in WITSEC money from the federal government.