Fake IDs From the Far East

These days, even our fake IDs are "Made in China."

A Cook County Sherriff's Police investigation has temporarily thwarted a fake ID operation that had ties from the north suburbs to the Far East.

According to the Sheriff's Department, fake IDs were being purchased by teens and college students through a Chinese website for about $75. The product was then packaged and hidden in Asian board games, web cam boxes or cheap jewelry.

"These are incredibly high-quality fakes," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Friday. "Even for the experts, they're unnerved by it as well."

Earlier:

The IDs included watermarks, making them "nearly indistinguishable from authentic IDs," according to the Sherriff's Department.  So far, more than 1,700 fake IDs have been intercepted by police and at least 40 are being charged with misdemeanor possession of a false ID.

The Sheriff’s Police Special Operations Unit began their investigation after packages of the fake IDs were intercepted by Chicago Customs and Border Protection in late April.  The shipments originated in China and were addressed to underage residents in the Cook County area.  Special Operations investigators tracked the licenses to 40 different purchasers between the ages of 17 and 20 from across the north side and northern suburbs. 

At least seven attend high school, but most are enrolled in colleges ranging from the University of Iowa to Loyola University.  Almost all of the counterfeit licenses were purchased from the same Internet site, IDChief.com, which students learned through word-of-mouth.

“Parents and kids need to realize that obtaining fraudulent identification is a serious crime with potential criminal consequences,” Dart noted.  “Additionally, sending private and identifying information across the web to an unknown overseas entity exposes you to identity theft.”

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