Skip Navigation

Fake stamps circulating in the UK are originating from China, lawmaker says

www.bbc.com Fake UK stamps blamed on Chinese-made counterfeits

People are unknowingly buying fakes from Chinese firms through online marketplaces, reports suggest.

Fake UK stamps blamed on Chinese-made counterfeits

Reports suggest a rise in complaints that stamps bought from legitimate stores are being deemed counterfeit. Anyone who receives a letter with a fake stamp is charged £5 by Royal Mail.

Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith told BBC Breakfast: "China is behind it."

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We are working hard to remove counterfeit stamps from circulation."

Consumers are being warned to look out for strange perforations around the edge of a stamp, a shine to the surface or the colour looking off.

19

You're viewing a single thread.

19 comments
  • All that effort to roll out barcoded stamps was well worth it then.

    I wonder if this might be the beginning of the end for stamps. The privatised Royal Mail already wants to reduce or even drop entirely letter carrying in favour of parcels. I could see an inability to combat stop forgery another argument used to advance that, with phasing out stamps a way to discourage sending lettters.

    • The universal service obligation obliges them to carry stamps. Getting rid of that would require an act of parliament. Good luck getting that through either house

      • I would hope that be the case, but I don’t have a lot of faith in it. Royal Mail wants to tear up the USO, because they claim they claim they can only be a viable business without it. The ultimate goal seems to be turning RM into just another commercial parcel courier.

        They are being increasingly loud about this, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they eventually bend enough politicians around. The privatised water companies already managed that with the Tories wrapped around their finger.

    • All that effort to roll out barcoded stamps was well worth it then.

      I would assume that the barcodes makes it far easier to find fakes. Unless they're just simple serials, in which case they're a bit boned.

19 comments