The small package was wrapped in Chinese newspaper when it arrived, protecting a thin light blue jewelry box holding a beaded bracelet. But the bracelet was cheap. What was important was hidden under a layer of foam: fake driver’s licenses.

The 19-year-old sophomore who ordered the IDs had tired of not being able to go out with his older buddies, and had organized the purchase online from China for himself and a few Princeton friends, using an email address given to him by a friend, who had also gotten it from a friend.

Fake IDs have been a campus accessory since 1984, when the age for buying and public possession of alcohol was set at 21. But forget old-school resources like an older sibling or Photoshop. In today’s global economy, students import their IDs.

The number from China has increased steadily in the last few years, said Bill Rivera, chief of the International Mail Branch at Kennedy International Airport, where officers seize a package almost every day. From October 2013 to September 2014, 4,585 Chinese-made counterfeit IDs were intercepted, most headed to college students. “Quite frankly, some of them look pretty good,” Mr. Rivera said.