Originally Posted by Kacee

Yes, and I'm afraid that frauds of various kinds have become a particular issue in parts of California, including LA and the bay area. Such that locals often cannot rent cars at LAX and some hotels in the bay area now tell you on their reservations page that they will pull a substantial deposit (not just an authorization) from your card at check-in. Whether examining a DL is an effective means of combatting that fraud may be debated, but no doubt that's the intention.