The ads for counterfeit stamps are proliferating on Facebook. Why hasn't the U.S. Postal Inspection Service gone after Meta for hosting these advertisements?
I was wondering the same thing. Furthermore, Facebook deleted my comment that stamps were counterfeit as a violation of community standards. That's right, it's against Facebook's rules for me to warn that the stamps are fake but it's not against the rules to sell fake stamps. Go figure.
I have written twice to my Congressman, senator, and the USPS re stamps on Facebook. Guess what? No one replied. I guess no one in government cares. All the Feds need to do is go after Facebook for their part in promoting sales a counterfit stamps.
I see several every day on FB. One day there were at least 8 "sponsored" ads. Some social media seem to be exempt from advertising laws that would apply to print media (IE newspapers)
Why was my comment deleted requesting that the USPS prosecute the manufacturers and distributors of fake stamps instead of criminalizing the deceived buyers?
For one thing, the producers are in China and the users are here; “bird in the hand” situation. And people who buy these should immediately be suspicious because of the large discount, which is too good to be true.
How are we supposed to know if they are fake? So your prosecuting innocent people for federal crimes since we don’t have our own advanced crime lab to verify the authenticity of stamps we are buying? That is so dumb. I hope USPS doesn’t even exist in 10 years. What a corrupt, and ridiculous notion to push this burden on your customers.
Prosecuting innocent people for capital crimes seems to be a postal thing over this side of the pond 🇬🇧 too. I'll say „Royal Mail“ and „Horizon“, and leave it at that...
Why is the Postmaster General not going after UA-cam and Ebay sellers/buyers by talking to the leadership of both companies? As a taxpayer I expect this person to do their job and protect taxpayer money from theft! How about the Postal service post a video about that instead of telling us it is a huge problem?
Because all the trails lead back to foreign countries, mostly to Communist China. We don't have an extradition treaty with them for this type of crime.
Genuine US postage stamps from the 1930s to the 1990s (pre-Forever) are often available from philatelic dealers at 20% - 40% off of face value because many stamp collectors amassed unused stamps from these decades in plate blocks and whole sheets. Because they are so common and plentiful, virtually every stamp show has a table with partial and whole sheets of common commemorative and definitive postage. I've bought many full sheets of 3 cent, 6 cent, and 22 cent stamps to use on letters, either as make-up postage or to pay for the difference in cost for overweight or oddly-shaped parcels. The auction examples you use in the video of 'counterfeit' postage (time-stamp 50 seconds) are, in fact, genuine postage of old, lower denomination stamps being sold at a substantial discount. Many of these will be gummed and hole-perforated stamps, rather than self-adhesives, but they are genuine. As an example, in the one frame, I can clearly make out a stack of partial sheets of 29 cent Elvis Presley stamps, which were issued in 1993. They're not counterfeit.
Just like metering devices, all stamps should be printed on the envelope with a barcode that authenticates it. Digitize all stamps, and the problem is solved. But oh no, the feds would much rather be complacent and hold citizens responsible for knowing if stamps are real or fake.
So, I can't buy stationery anymore unless it has postage on it? All greeting cards must come with postage prepaid? What if I put something in the envelope that makes it weigh more than one ounce? Then the postage amount would be invalid. I don't understand your idea.
@@sherylsmithflower You don't understand because you have never used a metering machine, aka a postage machine. Go look it up because I am not going to explain it to you.
@@nedaltamimi3365 I bought some one time and they are exactly the same. I even did the black light test and exactly the same. there is no way to tell the difference.
Walmart and other stores that sell stamps either sell stamps on a consignment basis with the Postal Service, or buy them and sell them at their store. Once bought, they can sell them for any amount the want to, but they then have to charge sales tax if they go this route.
They will work but if they are detected the mail that they are attached to can be detained and maybe even destoryed. At the very least your mail will get "lost" for a very long time if not for good if the fakes are detected. Not worth the risk to save a few cents.
Some of them are made really well that they do go through. But you do risk being charged or detained if you keep using them and a lot of your mail keeps getting investigated. Not really worth fighting federal charges to save a few bucks.
They will not since May 12. If you buy a stuff and the parcel is using a "fake" stamp, USPS will keep it and they will not deliver it to you or the sender.
I used to buy my USPS stamps from their official Ebay store, but they closed it down for no reason. They don't ship to Canada and I don't go down to the US very often these days... so you are forcing people to buy from online sellers. Why?
Back in March of 2021, I showed a roll of 100 to my Post Office clerk that I purchased on eBay for $9.00 and he said they looked good...THEY CAN'T BE! Not at $9.00 for 100! I even tried reporting on a Federal website, and a year later stamps were still being sold on eBay, I just checked right now on eBay and there are still some people selling 100 for about $35...THE P.O. HAS DONE NOTHING!
As a retired USPS employee, I reported the counterfeits for sale on Facebook to Facebook. They blew me off. Maybe they're ok with their social media site selling illegal counterfeit stamps.
Did not watch vid, but if they did the UV test, shine under UV light and they are dull or turned blue, they are fake... yellowish to greenish are what I seen so far..
@@craiggerlach5548 It's not so much the color, but the type of ink used in printing stamps. Real ones will register as they go through stamp cancelling equipment, fake ones will be rejected.
So what I’m getting from this video is that the postal office inspects everyone’s mail under a microscope. Very cool, this explains the high price for shipping.
They don't personally inspect. They rely on automatic sensors built into the sorter-facer-canceller machines that all pieces of mail bearing stamps have to go through. There's only a tiny amount of additional administrative cost involved: very close to zero per envelope.
We're using barcoded stamps in the UK, and let me tell you: They have *not* solved the counterfeiting problem. If anything, they seem to have made it altogether *worse* ... ⚠
@@Botanifiles The problem (In the UK case) seems to be that the coming of barcodes has also shifted the burden of proof to Royal Mails _digital twin_ system, meaning I could technically buy a sheet of stamps, use that as a master for a pile of fakes, and the first an unsuspecting buyer would hear about it is when their recipient complains about having to pay a fine because the stamp was fake. They _used_ to use various secure inks on them, but now they seem to be reasonably replicatable on any mid-line inkjet printer. 🖨 A big problem in this respect is that some of these counterfeit stamps are winding up in the drawers at official post offices, meaning Royal Mail has a *massive* problem on their hands. About the only way they might be able to address it (Sorry! 🙃) is by „scanning out“ every stamp as it's sold so it's validated as being issued by that post office. The thing is that I use 1p stamps as security seals (Hey! At that price...) and scanning out 500 1p stamps would swallow a _lot_ of time at any overstretched UK post office! 😳
All Stores Please lower the cost of all Military and Local for all Brands of Postage Stamps Products and Production Cost Now That's too much $$$ 100,000 The Whole World Now 🙏🙏🙏
The ads for counterfeit stamps are proliferating on Facebook. Why hasn't the U.S. Postal Inspection Service gone after Meta for hosting these advertisements?
I was wondering the same thing. Furthermore, Facebook deleted my comment that stamps were counterfeit as a violation of community standards. That's right, it's against Facebook's rules for me to warn that the stamps are fake but it's not against the rules to sell fake stamps. Go figure.
I have written twice to my Congressman, senator, and the USPS re stamps on Facebook. Guess what? No one replied. I guess no one in government cares. All the Feds need to do is go after Facebook for their part in promoting sales a counterfit stamps.
youtube is doing the same, including usps website impersonators. i bet federal law enforcement may need to get involved.
@@kgrfirdjy I just got hit with those ads on YT when I typed in fake stamps. A 100 stamp roll for under $8? Wrong.
I see several every day on FB. One day there were at least 8 "sponsored" ads.
Some social media seem to be exempt from advertising laws that would apply to print media (IE newspapers)
Why was my comment deleted requesting that the USPS prosecute the manufacturers and distributors of fake stamps instead of criminalizing the deceived buyers?
This is a very good point
I think it's an anti-semitic trend to prosecute manufacturers instead of consumers/users
They prosecute both.
For one thing, the producers are in China and the users are here; “bird in the hand” situation. And people who buy these should immediately be suspicious because of the large discount, which is too good to be true.
@@operacarmen to be "anti-semetic" is to simply point out and openly discuss what Jews do.
How are we supposed to know if they are fake? So your prosecuting innocent people for federal crimes since we don’t have our own advanced crime lab to verify the authenticity of stamps we are buying? That is so dumb. I hope USPS doesn’t even exist in 10 years. What a corrupt, and ridiculous notion to push this burden on your customers.
fake stamps are the same as counterfeit money. It is illegal to use either one.
Sorry, bubbsie, but you'll get prosecuted if you try to pass counterfeit money, too.
What is dumb is thinking deeply discounted stamps are genuine.
Prosecuting innocent people for capital crimes seems to be a postal thing over this side of the pond 🇬🇧 too. I'll say „Royal Mail“ and „Horizon“, and leave it at that...
what would you expect from such a corrupt govt?
Why is the Postmaster General not going after UA-cam and Ebay sellers/buyers by talking to the leadership of both companies? As a taxpayer I expect this person to do their job and protect taxpayer money from theft! How about the Postal service post a video about that instead of telling us it is a huge problem?
Stamps/postage aren't taxes
@@lenatemplin-montero8122 You are being obtuse. Taxpayers pay for the losses when people do not buy legitimate postage.
Because all the trails lead back to foreign countries, mostly to Communist China. We don't have an extradition treaty with them for this type of crime.
A few retailers are authorized 5% discounts, anything else is fraudulent
Genuine US postage stamps from the 1930s to the 1990s (pre-Forever) are often available from philatelic dealers at 20% - 40% off of face value because many stamp collectors amassed unused stamps from these decades in plate blocks and whole sheets. Because they are so common and plentiful, virtually every stamp show has a table with partial and whole sheets of common commemorative and definitive postage. I've bought many full sheets of 3 cent, 6 cent, and 22 cent stamps to use on letters, either as make-up postage or to pay for the difference in cost for overweight or oddly-shaped parcels. The auction examples you use in the video of 'counterfeit' postage (time-stamp 50 seconds) are, in fact, genuine postage of old, lower denomination stamps being sold at a substantial discount. Many of these will be gummed and hole-perforated stamps, rather than self-adhesives, but they are genuine. As an example, in the one frame, I can clearly make out a stack of partial sheets of 29 cent Elvis Presley stamps, which were issued in 1993. They're not counterfeit.
I do the same. And they take the cancellations better on the older stamps. Win-win.
Those old stamps are real though, not the fake ones being sold all over the internet.
@@tomsullivan2588 Just used some today. 3c Home of Theodore Roosevelt.
@@henrys3629 If you need anything, please contact me.
I'm so tired of Chinese fake coins & stamps!
The only thing I like about the chinese ? Are egg rolls , and Dumplings lol ,,,Now they are sending balloons to spy on us ,,,only to be shot down lol
Everything from China is shoddy or fake
Just like metering devices, all stamps should be printed on the envelope with a barcode that authenticates it. Digitize all stamps, and the problem is solved. But oh no, the feds would much rather be complacent and hold citizens responsible for knowing if stamps are real or fake.
So, I can't buy stationery anymore unless it has postage on it? All greeting cards must come with postage prepaid? What if I put something in the envelope that makes it weigh more than one ounce? Then the postage amount would be invalid. I don't understand your idea.
@@sherylsmithflower You don't understand because you have never used a metering machine, aka a postage machine. Go look it up because I am not going to explain it to you.
So everyone should have a postage machine? @@freddaniali
@@sherylsmithflowerYou are correct.
they simply moved on to make counterfeit pre-paid envelopes, its that simple.
Why is Facebook & others allowed to advertise fraudulent stamp ads?
so how do you tell if stamps are fake?
Use your judgement. They sell it to you at fraction of the actual cost. Ask yourself how come??? Stay on the safe side
@@nedaltamimi3365 I bought some one time and they are exactly the same. I even did the black light test and exactly the same. there is no way to tell the difference.
I bought my stamps (which may be counterfeit) through Walmart!!
Walmart and other stores that sell stamps either sell stamps on a consignment basis with the Postal Service, or buy them and sell them at their store. Once bought, they can sell them for any amount the want to, but they then have to charge sales tax if they go this route.
I bought my stamps at Nordstrom!
I see these ads so so so much! Isn’t it illegal to offer these?
Nothing but Scammers & they need to be prosecuted !!
So do they work or not?
It doesn't matter, it's theft of postal services
They will work but if they are detected the mail that they are attached to can be detained and maybe even destoryed. At the very least your mail will get "lost" for a very long time if not for good if the fakes are detected. Not worth the risk to save a few cents.
Some of them are made really well that they do go through. But you do risk being charged or detained if you keep using them and a lot of your mail keeps getting investigated. Not really worth fighting federal charges to save a few bucks.
They will not since May 12. If you buy a stuff and the parcel is using a "fake" stamp, USPS will keep it and they will not deliver it to you or the sender.
they work
I used to buy my USPS stamps from their official Ebay store, but they closed it down for no reason. They don't ship to Canada and I don't go down to the US very often these days... so you are forcing people to buy from online sellers. Why?
Why not list legal sources outside the USPS. I know if you buy in bulk there must some approved vendors.
Back in March of 2021, I showed a roll of 100 to my Post Office clerk that I purchased on eBay for $9.00 and he said they looked good...THEY CAN'T BE! Not at $9.00 for 100!
I even tried reporting on a Federal website, and a year later stamps were still being sold on eBay, I just checked right now on eBay and there are still some people selling 100 for about $35...THE P.O. HAS DONE NOTHING!
Or they're real.. I got a good deal on some from Amazon, a company just had purchased too many and wanted to liquidate..
That was a scam. That "need to liquidate" story is a common scammer tale. NOT real! Watch this video again, dude.@@justicejones5025
You don't really believe that do you?@@justicejones5025
@@justicejones5025 If you need anything, please contact me.
As a retired USPS employee, I reported the counterfeits for sale on Facebook to Facebook. They blew me off. Maybe they're ok with their social media site selling illegal counterfeit stamps.
But HOW do you know when they are fake or if someone is just trying to get rid of them? I think I'll take mine to the post office -__-
If the ad is on Facebook, they are fake.
Did not watch vid, but if they did the UV test, shine under UV light and they are dull or turned blue, they are fake... yellowish to greenish are what I seen so far..
@@craiggerlach5548 It's not so much the color, but the type of ink used in printing stamps. Real ones will register as they go through stamp cancelling equipment, fake ones will be rejected.
@@B.H.56 Etsy, Amazon and many others as well.
I bought my USPS certified stamps at Nordstrom!
So what I’m getting from this video is that the postal office inspects everyone’s mail under a microscope. Very cool, this explains the high price for shipping.
They don't personally inspect. They rely on automatic sensors built into the sorter-facer-canceller machines that all pieces of mail bearing stamps have to go through. There's only a tiny amount of additional administrative cost involved: very close to zero per envelope.
One of a few security measures.... newer stamps, within a year or so? use fluorescent and phosphorescent inks and dye.
Theres this big of a problem over adult stickers
I don't know so far everything I've bought has worked. I don't have a UV light.
counterfiet but the usps doesnt do anything about it
Wow
Idk
They re at u tube too
Put individual QR codes or barcodes on each of them, it's the only way to stop this
or digitize them
We're using barcoded stamps in the UK, and let me tell you: They have *not* solved the counterfeiting problem. If anything, they seem to have made it altogether *worse* ... ⚠
@@dieseldragon6756 Interesting, is there a known solution? Perhaps a country that has solved this somehow?
@@Botanifiles The problem (In the UK case) seems to be that the coming of barcodes has also shifted the burden of proof to Royal Mails _digital twin_ system, meaning I could technically buy a sheet of stamps, use that as a master for a pile of fakes, and the first an unsuspecting buyer would hear about it is when their recipient complains about having to pay a fine because the stamp was fake. They _used_ to use various secure inks on them, but now they seem to be reasonably replicatable on any mid-line inkjet printer. 🖨
A big problem in this respect is that some of these counterfeit stamps are winding up in the drawers at official post offices, meaning Royal Mail has a *massive* problem on their hands.
About the only way they might be able to address it (Sorry! 🙃) is by „scanning out“ every stamp as it's sold so it's validated as being issued by that post office. The thing is that I use 1p stamps as security seals (Hey! At that price...) and scanning out 500 1p stamps would swallow a _lot_ of time at any overstretched UK post office! 😳
All Stores Please lower the cost of all Military and Local for all Brands of Postage Stamps Products and Production Cost Now That's too much $$$ 100,000 The Whole World Now 🙏🙏🙏
Okay
I should be good i purchased mine from amazon
Sold 188
$35
$58
save $22.20 there ad