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

Submitted ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨0x815@feddit.de⁩ to ⁨unitedkingdom@feddit.uk⁩

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68786782

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.

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Blackmist@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Is there a way to actually scan the stamps yourself to see if they’re still valid? Presumably the barcodes on them are unique and one time use.

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YeetPics@mander.xyz ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Stay classy, china.

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thehatfox@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
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.

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- HeartyBeast@kbin.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  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
  
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  - thehatfox@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    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.
    
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- GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  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.
  
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Swarfega@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Fake stamps were bound to happen. They’re so expensive now

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FatLegTed@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Don’t but them online then. You cannot buy stamps cheaper than their face value.

But stupid people always know better.

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- Ross_audio@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Stamps no longer have a face value. They are 1st or second class.
  
  As they put up the price each year it’s becoming common to buy stamps before the price rise and sell them after.
  
  The margin on the last rise was ~13% on 2nd class stamps, 8% on first class stamps.
  
  13% has been roughly the average every year since 2005.
  
  So you can absolutely buy stamps at less than “face value”. Someone who bought them 4 years ago could easily give you a 20% discount and still make a profit.
  
  As stamps are not allowed to expire (or have to be replaced if they do) this is a safe investment.
  
  Royal mail have encouraged this to inflate sales in the short term and are suffering from those valid stamps still being available now with no further revenue.
  
  Taking the face value off stamps is what’s caused this problem.
  
  There was never an investment opportunity in buying a 90p stamp that was still worth 90p postage years later.
  
  But buying 1000 2nd class stamps that are always worth 2nd class postage has been an inflation beating purchase.
  
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  - GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Their new barcoding system could allow them to sunset stamps after a certain number of years (though I can imagine the uproar if they did!)
    
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- petenu@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  As it says in the article, these are also being purchased by small retailers, so even if you buy from a bricks-and-mortar store, there’s no guarantee that you’re getting the genuine article.
  
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feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
“China”. Why do they always treat it as a monolith. I have a set of dinner plates… China is behind them.

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- palordrolap@kbin.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Because people would lose attention if they tried to use a phrase longer than "China", and most people on this side of the world wouldn't know or retain a specific placename in China unless they had specific interest in the country.
  
  The news could throw something like "Malingshu province" and most people wouldn't bat an eye.
  
  ... despite the fact that that province name is fake and is in fact a mangled transliteration of one of the Mandarin words for "potato".
  
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  - feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    马铃薯?
    
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