Feb. 13 (UPI) — Customs and Border Protection agents seized nearly 162,000 counterfeit U.S. Forever Stamps at the Chicago International Mail Branch, the agency announced Thursday.
The eight shipments of the counterfeit stamps, seized over the weekend, would have had a value of $118,000 if they had been authentic.
According to CBP, agents have seen an increase in counterfeit postage stamps, especially around the holiday’s including high-volume card holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, which falls on Friday.
“Counterfeiters only care about making a profit. They don’t care about the effect that fake postage has on your ability to send important mail and overall impacts the U.S. economy,” LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of Field Operations-Chicago, said in a statement.
“Our officers and specialists are some of the most highly trained in the nation, and their level of expertise is evident with these seizures.”
The Forever Stamp is a special non-denominated stamp that represents the current price of a 1 ounce First-Class Mail postage. All commemorative stamps, which celebrate artists, athletes, history, natural wonders and more, are issued as Forever Stamps, according to the USPS.
Though Forever Stamps are commemorative, the flag stamp, which features the American flag, is the most frequently counterfeited, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said as it warned consumers to be careful where they buy their postage stamps.
“Purchasing stamps from a third-party wholesaler or online websites can be unpredictable. You have no way to verify whether they are genuine or not,” the USPIS said. “The Postal Inspection Service recommends purchasing from Approved Postal Providers. Approved vendors can include legitimate “big box” or warehouse retailers who do provide very small discounts on postage stamps, but this is through resale agreements with the Postal Service.
Authentic stamps are made at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving & Printing. Counterfeits are typically produced in China, the agency said, but the release noted that the fakes are becoming increasingly difficult to detect.
CBP seized the stamps for violating trademark laws. Agents were tipped off by the low invoice amount, the efforts the fraudsters used to conceal the stamps and the way they were routed in the country.
“Often officers use their knowledge and expertise to find fraudulent shipments,” the CBP release said.
The agency said it routinely conducts inspections on arriving and departing flights at the country’s 328 international ports of entry.