Beware of counterfeit postage stamps

JGalt

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Just a heads up for you fine folks on USMB: My wife received a package in the mail today. She saw a Facebook post about "cheap postage stamps" and ordered about $17 dollars worth of what was being advertised as postage stamps.. What she received were five double-sided booklets containing what appeared to be USPS "Forever/USA" postage stamps.

When she showed them to me and told me what she paid for them, I immediately got suspicious. After reading the emails, billing invoice, and closely examining the stamps, I determined them to be counterfeit, albeit, a very convincing forgery.

The first thing that aroused my suspicion was the fact that the return address on the package turned out to be a sushi restaurant in Hackensack, NJ. The address was a company named "UNITYREACH", at 75 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. When I put that address into Google Maps, this is what I saw:

Street View · Google Maps

It's possible that they weren't mailed from that location, and the shipper just used that as a bogus return address. The payment invoice and other emails link to a company named Cheap Stamps For Holiday Christmas PostCards

I searched through their website and they give no indication that the stamps are forgeries. It is a federal crime to forge, reproduce, sell, or use one of these stamps. I'll probably take them to the post office tomorrow and fill out a counterfeit postage report online.

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Just a heads up for you fine folks on USMB: My wife received a package in the mail today. She saw a Facebook post about "cheap postage stamps" and ordered about $17 dollars worth of what was being advertised as postage stamps.. What she received were five double-sided booklets containing what appeared to be USPS "Forever/USA" postage stamps.

When she showed them to me and told me what she paid for them, I immediately got suspicious. After reading the emails, billing invoice, and closely examining the stamps, I determined them to be counterfeit, albeit, a very convincing forgery.

The first thing that aroused my suspicion was the fact that the return address on the package turned out to be a sushi restaurant in Hackensack, NJ. The address was a company named "UNITYREACH", at 75 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. When I put that address into Google Maps, this is what I saw:

Street View · Google Maps

It's possible that they weren't mailed from that location, and the shipper just used that as a bogus return address. The payment invoice and other emails link to a company named Cheap Stamps For Holiday Christmas PostCards

I searched through their website and they give no indication that the stamps are forgeries. It is a federal crime to forge, reproduce, sell, or use one of these stamps. I'll probably take them to the post office tomorrow and fill out a counterfeit postage report online.

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From what I can find that series was produced in 2020, I've found them for sale on Esty and Ebay, but for a lot more than $17.00. The bar code on the originals is the same as in your photo.

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Just a heads up for you fine folks on USMB: My wife received a package in the mail today. She saw a Facebook post about "cheap postage stamps" and ordered about $17 dollars worth of what was being advertised as postage stamps.. What she received were five double-sided booklets containing what appeared to be USPS "Forever/USA" postage stamps.

When she showed them to me and told me what she paid for them, I immediately got suspicious. After reading the emails, billing invoice, and closely examining the stamps, I determined them to be counterfeit, albeit, a very convincing forgery.

The first thing that aroused my suspicion was the fact that the return address on the package turned out to be a sushi restaurant in Hackensack, NJ. The address was a company named "UNITYREACH", at 75 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. When I put that address into Google Maps, this is what I saw:

Street View · Google Maps

It's possible that they weren't mailed from that location, and the shipper just used that as a bogus return address. The payment invoice and other emails link to a company named Cheap Stamps For Holiday Christmas PostCards

I searched through their website and they give no indication that the stamps are forgeries. It is a federal crime to forge, reproduce, sell, or use one of these stamps. I'll probably take them to the post office tomorrow and fill out a counterfeit postage report online.

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View attachment 1184333
Authentic stamps have specific fluorescent tags that glow yellow-green under UV light, while counterfeits may glow blue or not at all.
thats what the inspectors told a lady who thought the ones she bought were fake....
 
I remember I send a letter but was 2 cents short of stamps, so I drew two 1 cent stamps on the envelope hopping for a postman with a sense of humor. It actually got through.
 
Authentic stamps have specific fluorescent tags that glow yellow-green under UV light, while counterfeits may glow blue or not at all.
thats what the inspectors told a lady who thought the ones she bought were fake....

It has to be a specific wavelength of UV. I have a common handheld UV lamp and these stamp glow greenish-yellow. I used the lamp on some stamps we bought at the post office and saw no glow.
 
It has to be a specific wavelength of UV. I have a common handheld UV lamp and these stamp glow greenish-yellow. I used the lamp on some stamps we bought at the post office and saw no glow.
that i dont know i just remember her telling me what happened when she called the postal inspectors...if you think they are fake call them,going to the PO itself you may not get nothing.......
 
that i dont know i just remember her telling me what happened when she called the postal inspectors...if you think they are fake call them,going to the PO itself you may not get nothing.......

That's true. From what I've read the PO just throws them in the garbage. I could file a report on the USPS website but they probably already know about the company and seller. ******* Chinese. All the names associated with the sale and company are Chinese, and I'd bet with 110% certainty they were printed in China.
 
That's true. From what I've read the PO just throws them in the garbage. I could file a report on the USPS website but they probably already know about the company and seller. ******* Chinese. All the names associated with the sale and company are Chinese, and I'd bet with 110% certainty they were printed in China.
yea they sound fake....
 
Just a heads up for you fine folks on USMB: My wife received a package in the mail today. She saw a Facebook post about "cheap postage stamps" and ordered about $17 dollars worth of what was being advertised as postage stamps.. What she received were five double-sided booklets containing what appeared to be USPS "Forever/USA" postage stamps.

When she showed them to me and told me what she paid for them, I immediately got suspicious. After reading the emails, billing invoice, and closely examining the stamps, I determined them to be counterfeit, albeit, a very convincing forgery.

The first thing that aroused my suspicion was the fact that the return address on the package turned out to be a sushi restaurant in Hackensack, NJ. The address was a company named "UNITYREACH", at 75 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. When I put that address into Google Maps, this is what I saw:

Street View · Google Maps

It's possible that they weren't mailed from that location, and the shipper just used that as a bogus return address. The payment invoice and other emails link to a company named Cheap Stamps For Holiday Christmas PostCards

I searched through their website and they give no indication that the stamps are forgeries. It is a federal crime to forge, reproduce, sell, or use one of these stamps. I'll probably take them to the post office tomorrow and fill out a counterfeit postage report online.
How many stamps all together were sent to your wife? The current price for just one these days is $0.78.

God bless you and your wife always!!!

Holly
 
How many stamps all together were sent to your wife? The current price for just one these days is $0.78.

God bless you and your wife always!!!

Holly

A total of 100 "stamps." Real stamps would have cost $78. Those sellers of counterfeit draw people in by making them think they're getting a good deal.
 
Just a heads up for you fine folks on USMB: My wife received a package in the mail today. She saw a Facebook post about "cheap postage stamps" and ordered about $17 dollars worth of what was being advertised as postage stamps.. What she received were five double-sided booklets containing what appeared to be USPS "Forever/USA" postage stamps.

When she showed them to me and told me what she paid for them, I immediately got suspicious. After reading the emails, billing invoice, and closely examining the stamps, I determined them to be counterfeit, albeit, a very convincing forgery.

The first thing that aroused my suspicion was the fact that the return address on the package turned out to be a sushi restaurant in Hackensack, NJ. The address was a company named "UNITYREACH", at 75 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. When I put that address into Google Maps, this is what I saw:

Street View · Google Maps

It's possible that they weren't mailed from that location, and the shipper just used that as a bogus return address. The payment invoice and other emails link to a company named Cheap Stamps For Holiday Christmas PostCards

I searched through their website and they give no indication that the stamps are forgeries. It is a federal crime to forge, reproduce, sell, or use one of these stamps. I'll probably take them to the post office tomorrow and fill out a counterfeit postage report online.

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In 2024 the UK was flooded with counterfeit stamps from China. Even buying a book of stamps from large supermarkets were also counterfeit. The Post Office were charging the receiver £5 for mail with a counterfeit stamp on it. They had to pause that once they realised the epic scale of the problem.
 
I honestly can’t remember the last time I used a stamp.
 
15th post
One reason not to be cheap and lazy. Go to a post office and buy stamps directly.
 
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