Counterfeit Stamp Warning Signs and What to Do

Begin With the Offer and Source

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service warns that counterfeit stamps are frequently advertised at deep discounts. A steep discount is not a laboratory result, but it is a significant reason to stop and verify the responsible seller, exact product, payment path, and source claims before purchasing.

Warning Signs Before Purchase

• A price dramatically below current postage value paired with urgency or a “too good to miss” claim.
• No verifiable business identity, address, contact path, or consistent seller name.
• Product photographs, design, year, format, quantity, and category do not agree.
• Payment must be made by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire, or another hard-to-reverse method.
• Official names, logos, or marketplace fulfillment are used as though they authenticate a third-party listing.

What Physical Inspection Can Establish

After delivery, document quantity, design, format, backing, die cuts, print alignment, damage, and differences from the saved listing. These observations help describe an order problem. They do not create definitive authentication. USPS does not disclose all counterfeit-detection methods or security enhancements, so no consumer UV light, paper test, or visual checklist should be sold as a guarantee.

Keep Authentication Separate From Remedies

A return policy, credit-card record, or payment dispute may help recover money. It does not prove the stamps are genuine. Conversely, a difficult refund process does not by itself establish that a stamp is counterfeit. Preserve evidence and state observable discrepancies.

Record, Cross-Check, and Pause

1. Save the complete listing, checkout receipt, seller name, messages, package, shipping label, and photographs before a listing changes.
2. Photograph the whole package and sheet or booklet first, then record the exact discrepancy: design name, issue year, category, count, format, backing, die cuts, alignment, or damage.
3. Compare the claimed issue name, year, format, and postage category with an official USPS product or announcement, a museum record, or a recognized philatelic catalog. A match supports identification; it does not by itself authenticate the physical item.
4. Pause use and avoid peeling, soaking, marking, mailing, or other destructive tests while seeking help from the seller, payment provider, USPS, or an appropriate philatelic expert.

Suspected counterfeit-postage schemes can be reported through the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Describe observable facts rather than declaring a home inspection definitive.