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The United States Postal Service (USPS) has struggled for years with an outdated business model and huge retirement pension liabilities. And now, on top of inflation and financial woes, a new threat is added. Counterfeit Chinese stamps are being sold online through paid advertising. google and facebookamong other platforms.
Counterfeiting currency, bonds, or other government securities is a form of warfare. Britain printed the continental dollar to undermine the American economy during the Revolutionary War. The Union encouraged counterfeiting to the Confederates during the Civil War. And North Korea is known to have circulated counterfeit $100 Federal Reserve bank notes (Supernotes).
You can add new items to your profitable counterfeit record. It’s his USPS Forever stamps made in China, priced at just 7.7 cents a piece. That’s 88% off the official price of $0.63 per copy. And even better, one printer boasts anti-counterfeit detection ink that looks like official mail under UV light.
On this historic day, July 1, 1847, the United States Post Office issued the first postage stamp.
Due to the surge in use of counterfeit stamps, the USPS make a statement last February “…the use of counterfeit mail is on the rise…” and noted that its use and sale were “…criminal because people seek services without paying for them.”
The Postal Service went on to announce its intention to amend its rules regarding the handling of mail and parcels found to contain counterfeit mail, so that such mail would be considered abandoned, opened and destroyed. suggested that there is a possibility thatof The new policy went into effect on July 9th.
A mail truck stops in front of a mailbox outside the Post Office in Pennsylvania. (FOX 29 Philadelphia)
This policy puts the Postal Service in a difficult position. Already under public scrutiny for failing to reliably deliver mail, some people who bought counterfeit stamps from unscrupulous retailers now claim that the USPS has sent letters containing counterfeit mail. You wonder why your check didn’t reach the credit card company or doctor’s office without knowing that you’ve destroyed it. stamp.
created by the postal service 2022 revenue of $78.5 billion, Most of it comes from first class mail, the type of mail most likely to be affected by counterfeit stamps. And even though revenue last year increased by his $1.5 billion, Postal Service losses increased by $2 billion, labor costs increased by his $1.4 billion, and highways, fuel and overhead increased by another 20. $100 million increase.
How Scammers Sell Counterfeit Stamps on Facebook Ads
A 10 second google search for “Forever stamp roll 100” shows many fake stamp offers in the sponsored search results.Sponsored because the vendor paid Google Because it will appear higher in search engines. These sponsored ads appear right above the Post Office’s own sponsored online ads.
A Chinese supplier who claimed special anti-counterfeiting ink had a particularly good deal. 110 rolls of 100 stamps cost $848.10 with free shipping (I wonder if they use their own counterfeit stamps for postage). Paying regular postage would set him back $6,930, and the USPS needs every penny to offset its growing losses.
Just last year, the supposedly self-supporting U.S. Postal Service received a $50 billion bailout from Congress over the next decade. That included $10 billion in federal loans forgiven by Congress, $3 billion for electric vehicles, and $90 billion in losses over the past 16 years.
Of course, part of the Postal Service’s problem lies in its outdated business model. Why buy cheap counterfeit stamps when you can pay bills online or send texts instead of letters?
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And China isn’t just producing counterfeit stamps, it’s looting intellectual property of all kinds, from drugs to clothing, and even shipping lethal doses of fentanyl. killed 107,000 Americans last year. It is as if China thinks it is at war with the United States – especially given the fact that nothing happens without the knowledge and approval of the CCP.
California Republican Rep. Michelle Park Steele, a member of the House Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party and the Congressional Executive Committee on China, said, “The market is flooded with counterfeit Chinese Communist Party stamps. , harmful to the United States.” Both American citizens and the Postal Service. The problem has cost taxpayers millions of dollars in fraudulent services and has caused unsuspecting Americans to commit federal crimes without even knowing it. I urge everyone to purchase stamps from authorized and legitimate sellers to avoid being scammed. I am investigating this issue to see how Congress can crack down on counterfeit mail. ”
![Michelle Steele Chinese Republican Party](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/05/640/320/Michelle-Steel.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
FILES — Rep. Michelle Steele (R-California) (second from left), (R-left) House Republican Conference Speaker Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), Rep. Mike McCall (R-R) , Texas) speaks to reporters at a press conference. With Republican Louisiana House Minority Whip Commissioner Steve Scalise after a meeting of the House Republican Caucus at the US Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., October 20, 2021 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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In response to an inquiry about online ads promoting counterfeit stamps, a Google spokesperson said, “We have strict advertising policies that govern the types of ads and advertisers we allow on our platform, and we never hide or misrepresent information. We explicitly prohibit advertisements that deceive users by listing them.” About the advertiser’s products. We’ve reviewed the ad in question and removed the ad that violates our policies.
Unfortunately, dozens of fake postage stamp ads still featured prominently in Google search results, even after the company claimed to have taken steps to remove the ads in question. This suggests that the issue will not be easily resolved without vigorous action by the Biden administration to protect US interests, such as imposing fines on China’s exports to the US.
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