USPS Warns About Rise in Counterfeit Stamps
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is warning consumers to be on the lookout for counterfeit stamps and counterfeit postage on packages.
USPIS says there’s been a spike in scammers selling fake stamps online, including on e-commerce websites, social media sites, and elsewhere. Fraudsters are also reselling stolen goods at a deep discount and shipping them using the counterfeit stamps.
The scams are costing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) millions in revenue. In fact, law enforcement seized more than $16 million in counterfeit stamps in the past year.
“The Postal Inspection Service has no tolerance for people who create, distribute or use counterfeit postage,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale. “These practices erode the inherent trust in the USPS brand, and it’s not fair to all the consumers and business owners who lawfully pay for postage.”
Spotting a Scam
USPIS says the scams often advertise significant savings off the face value of stamps and can come in a variety of ways including entire rolls of fake stamps, forever stamps, and postage labels.
“If you see large discounts on stamps, like 40 to 50 percent off, it’s probably too good to be true,” said U.S. Postal Inspector Kelly McNulty to Linn’s Stamp News.
To fight back, USPIS has been working with e-commerce sites to identify sellers using fraudulent postage. It’s also been seizing domains related to the sale of counterfeit stamps
Public Relations Campaign
To deter scams and make the public aware, USPIS is launching a public relations campaign to urge consumers to buy stamps directly from the Postal Service or authorized retailers.
The campaign will include social media posts and news articles. Consumers will also be advised to stay away from working from home “jobs” that traffic in counterfeit postage.
Such jobs involve reshipping packages, with merchandise that is typically purchased with stolen credit cards and shipped with counterfeit postage.
The warning is also part of Project Safe Delivery, a broader effort from USPS to protect consumers and the mail system.