NYC Chinese gang stole 3,000 identities of 'look-alikes' for undocumented migrants 

A Chinese criminal gang in New York City stole thousands of identities from people who looked like several undocumented migrants so they could pass as U.S. citizens, authorities said. 

More than 3,000 Asian-Americans had their identities stolen from a Texas driver database by the criminal gang as part of a scheme to “sell” U.S. citizenship to undocumented Asian migrants, reported The New York Post. 

The criminal group obtained the identities through the dark web—including credit card and personal information. The information was then used to duplicate the individuals’ driver's licenses through the official website of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The criminals were able to place orders for new licenses for around $11, which they sent to “third-party addresses.”

The criminals were particularly targeting Asians of various ethnicities in order to find “look-alikes” for Chinese citizens that were in the U.S. illegally. 

“We’re not happy at all. Controls should have been in place and this should have never happened,” said Texas DPS chief Steve McCraw. 

Despite authorities learning about the scheme almost two months ago, the individuals whose identities were compromised have not yet been notified about their identities being stolen.

According to the DPS, many victims have not been notified because they are still part of an ongoing criminal investigation that spans at least four states, as authorities try to catch the culprits behind the scheme. 

DPS said that the loopholes that made the scheme possible have since been secured, preventing similar incidents from happening in the future. 

News of the scheme comes as the number of Chinese migrants attempting to cross into the United States illegally has increased by more than 800% compared to last year, according to Customs and Border Protection.