Detective Inspector Grant Wormald said it had been a lengthy and complex investigation because the offending has been occurring across the North Island.
"It has taken a lot of co-ordinated teamwork with the bank fraud investigation teams and Police Document Examiners Office in particular, to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together and to link the hundreds of offences back to those police allege are responsible for making the false identity documents," he said.
Police are advising people to report the loss or theft of any identity documents to police, their bank and their issuing authority immediately, especially if it has a photograph on it.
Police are also advising people to be careful of how they dispose of documents such as bank statements, bills and other documents with private information on them.
"If your mail goes missing, especially if it is from your bank, contact them immediately so they can consider putting an alert on your account," Mr Wormald.
"If you work in the banking sector or anywhere else where you have to check someone's identity using an identity document, take your time.
False identity documents can and do look very real. It is good practice to ask for more than one piece of proof of identity."
Anyone who receives an unsolicited telephone call from people purporting to be from banks, IRD or even courier delivery companies, should be very careful before disclosing any personal information, including where they bank, their home addresses and identity document details, police said.
The men arrested today will appear in Wellington District Court tomorrow morning.