Over 1300 workers have been detained and arrested by police in the US over identity crime. Charges have been brought against 150 illegal immigrants who have been accused of stealing the identities of US citizens. The purpose of this crime was to gain legal employment. Other defendants will face the charge of illegal re-entry document fraud, social security fraud and identity theft. Additional charges are being brought against almost 100 other defendants.

The identification of these illegal criminals was the result of an organised attack. Operation Wagon Train was a joint effort by related departments in the US. The arrests and undercover operation shows that the United States takes identity theft very seriously. These illegal immigrants were trying to get legal jobs by illegal means. The message being sent out by the authorities is that nobody can gain lawful employment with a stolen identity. The stealing of these identities include the improper use of stolen Social Security numbers and other documents in order to get a job.

Many of the victims of this identity theft had already alerted the authorities to the nature of their stolen personal data. Some of the victims first knew about their stolen identity when the Internal Revenue Service began demanding taxes for unreported income. This income had, of course, come about by the illegal employment of the aliens who had stolen the original identity.

Government officials are increasing their efforts in order to support the crime of identity theft. Last year (2006) almost twice the number of prosecutions took place compared to the year before.