USPS Oig Report On Counterfeit Stamps 16 June 2026

https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/defau...-121-r26.pdf

Finally, a current authoritative government report specific to the counterfeiting problem with some shocking admissions and numbers.

Read for yourself but the OIG estimates losses related to counterfeiting just in FY2026 of 349 million dollars and revenue at risk just in FY2026 of 1.7 billion dollars. Just ONE fiscal year!

This is a fascinating read and well worth the time.

Indeed an interesting report. I note that the revenue loss calculation is based on the old 78c/letter rate yielding the 349million dollar figure. Assuming the same rate of loss @ 8c/letter, the loss forecast rises to 432.5million. The USPS nit-picking in management's response about that full amount not being recoverable given the cost of recover is, itself, a sad commentary on the USPS' focus.

If it costs $2 to recover a $1 loss, it a wise fiscal action. The issue is again, China coupled with the people who use the fake stamps. The huge traffickers will never have enough money to pay restitution for the loss. Debtor's prison is not allow in the USA.

The only reasonable action to stop the counterfeiting is doing away with stamps and demonetizing all previous issues or going to war with China (again, not cost effective). That of course means meters and in person PO visits.

Thanks for sharing. Had the chance to talk with someone from OIG who was up for the Boston show and it was a very illuminating conversation. They seem to really know how bad the problem is, but you can't turn a tanker on a dime...

The other nugget from that conversation is that China is still the main bad actor here, but declining as a percentage of the overall - more and more of the interceptions are coming from other countries (primarily in SE Asia).



Sadly, I have to agree (with the first part, not the war - we've seen how well those turn out! - and, as mentioned, it's not just China that's the problem here, but a bunch of non-state actors located elsewhere). We've already talked about the legal thicket of demonetizing Forever stamps, but I don't see how else to fully deal with the issue.

The interceptions may be from other Countries but that is likely China using those Countries as transit points. They have shifted their methods of getting things into the US because of the increased scrutiny tariffs has brought. The production is still China because the capital involved in producing the counterfeit goods is substantial and the CCP is at the center of the effort and financing.

Perhaps, but not necessarily. I was told that there are some enterprising groups in SE Asia who saw the $$$ to be made from selling knockoff stamps on Facebook and decided to get into the game. Not everything is China at the center, and I'm glad OIG doesn't have the blinders on and is able to see where things are shifting.

Interesting. I have to imagine that as with high-quality counterfeit currency there are a select few technicians overall that are in demand to produce the really good fakes. These are not some cowboys operating out of their garages. The machinery and facilities I have seen in photos cost many millions of dollars unless of course you were an existing manufacturer of legal things that converted to more profitable US postage.

I had seen estimates of the financial scope of the problem in the past that were in the100-million-dollar range annually, so these new numbers are jaw dropping.

Would it be too much to ask of ebay and Facebook to temporarily halt all listings of US face postage?

My wife was just stopped from listing a vintage coffee pot on ebay because it was known to have a design flaw that could cause someone to burn themselves. They can't stop counterfeit stamps? There is also a supplement company running ads warning of over 150 Chinese companies on ebay mimicking their company branding and selling counterfeit pills that contain everything from baking soda to "soil". The company cannot get ebay to act on shutting these sellers down. Something has to change here, and I guess Congress needs to act (don't laugh).