It's a passport to trouble — and it can be bought for just $260 on the streets of Jackson Heights, Queens.

担心没护照？只要花上260美元，你就能在纽约皇后区的繁华商业街杰克逊高地买到假证。

In just one hour, The Post was able to buy a phony（假的） green card, Social Security card and New York state driver's license¹ from a stranger on a corner — all of which could serve as a gateway² to obtain legitimate³ IDs.

The cards are frighteningly real — convincing enough to fool creditors⁴, potential employers and security at buildings and even the airport.

Experts said the biggest fear is that these IDs are being bought by people who slipped past border crossings.

"You get that legitimate ID, and this one goes away," said John Cutter, retired⁵ NYPD deputy chief of the Intelligence Division, as he tossed the fake Social Security card in the air.

"The next thing you know, you're legit even though you never came across the border legally, nobody really knows who you are, you've never paid taxes, but now you're a legitimate citizen, and now you start your history.

"That's the scary part, because, let's face it, people working in government agencies aren't always cognizant（审理的） of the security risks of these things," said Cutter, who runs a private security company.

On Roosevelt Avenue, known to investigators⁶ as the "East Coast epicenter" for fake IDs, officials believe 10 mills operate between 103rd and 76th streets.

In 2007, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown netted one of the gang-related groups. It was raking in more than $1 million annually⁷ selling the bogus cards on the streets. Investigators found that while most of the ring's buyers were illegal immigrants, a handful were criminals involved in identity theft.

Five years later, the illegal industry continues to thrive and sellers on the street avoid the watchful⁸ eyes of patrol cops and surveillance cameras.