The US Postal Service is issuing a warning about a recent surge in the use of counterfeit postage.
The fake stamps are being sold at a discount.
If you were to Google “postal stamps for sale” you’ll see them pop up on a lot of different sites.
You can’t go wrong if you buy your stamps at the post office. And there are some big box companies that have approved contracts with the postal service that authorize them to sell stamps at a very slight discount.
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But steer clear of any stamps that are posted for sale with a deep discount. They are likely counterfeit, and using them is a crime.
“I would say the majority of it is being sold online through, again, social media platforms. We see it on third-party e-commerce sites,” says Postal Inspector Danielle Schrage. “One red flag that I tell people, you know, to be aware of is anytime a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. So if thousands of dollars worth of stamps are being sold online from a single party at 20% to 50% off, that should be a red flag.”
The US Postal Service is proposing changes for the handling of items bearing counterfeit postage that will allow it to treat items found in the mail stream with fake stamps as abandoned.
Consumers buying online items may be surprised to find out that the vendor mailed their goods with counterfeit postage. Under the new regulations, such items will be considered abandoned and disposed of at the Postal Service’s discretion. When this happens, and your package doesn’t arrive, it will be on you to seek recourse from the vendor. This is another good reason to shop on sites you know and trust.
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