Counterfeit Postage

Phil Merrill_

I've read a brief article about USPS reaction to the surge in counterfeit postage. Changes are being made to the domestic mailing manual directing that items franked with counterfeit postage be seized and considered abandoned in the mail, to be disposed of at the service's discretion. Customers of vendors that have used counterfeit postage will have no recourse but to the vendor.

Good. Basta! Fini! I hope this has an impact, but it needs much more exposure.

Scott Payton

Nice. That has an interesting impact on curtailing it's popularity.
Something that makes sense for a change.

Greg Doll

Bunch of lazy criminals...nothing more. I'll serve on that jury in a heartbeat.

Phil Merrill_

And anyone that says they thought the post office was having a sale is patently either a liar or a fool, and perhaps both.

Greg Doll

I betting on both. Feeling better Cappy?

Phil Merrill_

Much. Waiting now on Herself to catch up. Enforced bed rest has helped a leg injury I had, that's a good thing, but we both get winded so easily.

George DeKornfeld

As usual, there will likely be some unintended consequences, to whit, how many of us use old commemoratives on our mailings, sold as discount postage? There are plenty of anecdotes making the rounds where even current commemoratives aren't recognized by some ill-informed postal worker where the item is returned to the sender. This happens even more frequently when older issues are used. Will these, instead of being returned to sender as is the current norm, now end up in the DLO and be destroyed (or kept, should something of value be inside, such as an order of stamps that were on the way to their buyer)?

Luree Hughes

Why do they have to destroy the envelope and contents? Why not make it a postage due and have the addressee come to the PO and pay the postage? That would put a firecracker up the sellers butt.

Michael Duehr

It would go to the Mail Recovery Centers And Correspondence is destroyed and anything of value is auctioned off.

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-the-USPS-Mail-Recovery-Center

Undeliverable mail determined to be of value, meaning the content is worth more than $25.00 ($20.00 for mailpieces containing cash), will be held for 60 days if the mailpiece is barcoded, or 30 days for non-barcoded mailpieces.

Mailpieces are scanned and those that are determined to contain items of value are opened in an attempt to identify an address where the piece can be forwarded or returned.

The Mail Recovery Center (MRC) is the U.S. Postal Service’s official “lost and found” department for undeliverable and non-returnable mail. Undeliverable mailpieces are letters, flats or parcels that cannot be delivered as addressed nor returned to the sender.

How Does the USPS® Dispose of Items of Value if the Owner Cannot Be Located?

Occasionally, the MRC will auction off the items held. More information on upcoming auctions, including locations and directions, can be found at United States Postal Service® auctions. Auctions usually start at 10:00 AM with the viewing of the available merchandise beginning at 8:30 AM. Merchandise is sold in lots, not by individual item, and catalogs may be purchased for a nominal fee on the day of the auction.

The MRC disposes of unclaimed merchandise and items not meeting retention guidelines in the following manner:

Charitable or Welfare Organizations - donations to nonprofit organizations

Trash, Recycle and Shred - food items, metals, cardboard, paper, etc.

Auction - contracted company handling the sale of auctionable merchandise.

Michael Duehr

Luree,

Actually it would put the onus on the seller, as if the packages can not be tracked as to whether or not it was delivered
to the customer. How long before it would be that Paypal or other credit card processors suspends those accounts for non delivery?

Phil Merrill_

Despite fears to the contrary, I have never lost an order because old stamps were used. I have had dealers misunderstand thickness and nonmachinable charges, costing me time and postage due. As a sidebar, years ago I took a letter with a very recently issued commemorative in for a postmark and the clerk asked, "Is that one of ours?"

Lauren Cochrane

The post office is not worried about postage stamps on a letter. This is directed towards the photo shopped shipping labels.
Also, the postal inspectors have to approve destruction of the abandoned mail piece first.

Ted Tyszka

In the article I read, they were specifically targeting the counterfeit stamps coming out of China and Russia.

Phil Merrill_

Me too. There are evidently folks out there selling their chotskies on ebay, covering the boxes with their counterfeit stamps and yuck yucking to the bank.

Lauren Cochrane

The USPS is cracking down on counterfeit postage stamps before they are sold to the public and used. The problem is, as fast as they can shut a website down two more have opened up selling counterfeit forever stamps.

Bill O'Malley

Google adds have a company from Hong Kong selling rolls of 100 forever stamps and selling them for $29.99. Google should be prosecuted as well as eBay.

Phil Merrill_

HUA! That means amen in citizen talk.

Bob Woodbury

Bill there are laws against that. Without these laws we would not have the Internet as we know it today.