Post by Carl LaFong on Apr 10, 2024 19:44:42 GMT
archive.fo/2024.04.10-173107/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/china-flooding-britain-fake-stamps-economic-warfare/
China is behind the scourge of counterfeit stamps flooding Britain and landing victims with £5 penalties, The Telegraph understands.
Sources close to Royal Mail said that forgeries from the Communist state were behind a rise in complaints that letters sent with stamps bought from legitimate stores were being flagged as fraudulent.
Security experts and MPs described the mass forgery as an “act of economic warfare” and akin to “printing counterfeit money”.
It is understood that the convincing forgeries are being bought unwittingly by small retailers, who are not required to buy stamps directly from Royal Mail and can instead source them from wholesalers in bulk.
It comes after the Royal Mail last week launched a review into its new barcoded stamps amid fears customers are wrongly being forced to pay £5 to collect letters.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake said he expects Royal Mail to investigate how the counterfeit stamps from China entered the supply chain and were being sold in shops.
Royal Mail insists its systems are not faulty – meaning any stamps flagged as counterfeit are likely to be fakes from China.
A Telegraph investigation identified four major Chinese suppliers offering to print up to one million counterfeit Royal Mail stamps a week for as little as 4p each – and deliver them to Britain within days.
The stamps are also being sold through online retail giants such as Amazon and eBay – and on websites that mimic the official Royal Mail store.
Security experts have warned that the mass fraud is “economic warfare” done with the “tacit approval” of the Chinese Communist Party.
The postal workers union CWU has also said that the “scam on an unprecedented scale” had resulted in a rise in aggression against its members and risked further damage to the Post Office brand following the Horizon computer scandal.
The Royal Mail introduced barcode stamps in 2022 in an effort to put a stop to forgeries that were costing the postal service tens of millions of pounds every year.
The barcodes are scanned when post arrives at sorting offices and suspicious stamps are then inspected by staff who then declare if the stamp is genuine or fake. Stamp fraud has since fallen 90pc.
Royal Mail insists genuine stamps will never be marked as counterfeit, unlike those printed in China.
The Government last month revealed that China was behind a cyber attack on the Electoral Commission that compromised the data of 40 million voters, and concern in Whitehall that China was behind social media attacks on the Princess of Wales.
Official Royal Mail stamps have been printed by the same family business in Wolverhampton for the past decade. However, more than 8,000 miles away, one factory in China’s third largest city, Shenzhen, claims it employs 39 members of staff and can produce up to one million per week.
Another company in the port city of Quanzhou, in south east China, is selling sheets of 50 first class large barcoded stamps. The listing describes the fake stamps as “mint, new and read [sic] for posting”….
China is behind the scourge of counterfeit stamps flooding Britain and landing victims with £5 penalties, The Telegraph understands.
Sources close to Royal Mail said that forgeries from the Communist state were behind a rise in complaints that letters sent with stamps bought from legitimate stores were being flagged as fraudulent.
Security experts and MPs described the mass forgery as an “act of economic warfare” and akin to “printing counterfeit money”.
It is understood that the convincing forgeries are being bought unwittingly by small retailers, who are not required to buy stamps directly from Royal Mail and can instead source them from wholesalers in bulk.
It comes after the Royal Mail last week launched a review into its new barcoded stamps amid fears customers are wrongly being forced to pay £5 to collect letters.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake said he expects Royal Mail to investigate how the counterfeit stamps from China entered the supply chain and were being sold in shops.
Royal Mail insists its systems are not faulty – meaning any stamps flagged as counterfeit are likely to be fakes from China.
A Telegraph investigation identified four major Chinese suppliers offering to print up to one million counterfeit Royal Mail stamps a week for as little as 4p each – and deliver them to Britain within days.
The stamps are also being sold through online retail giants such as Amazon and eBay – and on websites that mimic the official Royal Mail store.
Security experts have warned that the mass fraud is “economic warfare” done with the “tacit approval” of the Chinese Communist Party.
The postal workers union CWU has also said that the “scam on an unprecedented scale” had resulted in a rise in aggression against its members and risked further damage to the Post Office brand following the Horizon computer scandal.
The Royal Mail introduced barcode stamps in 2022 in an effort to put a stop to forgeries that were costing the postal service tens of millions of pounds every year.
The barcodes are scanned when post arrives at sorting offices and suspicious stamps are then inspected by staff who then declare if the stamp is genuine or fake. Stamp fraud has since fallen 90pc.
Royal Mail insists genuine stamps will never be marked as counterfeit, unlike those printed in China.
The Government last month revealed that China was behind a cyber attack on the Electoral Commission that compromised the data of 40 million voters, and concern in Whitehall that China was behind social media attacks on the Princess of Wales.
Official Royal Mail stamps have been printed by the same family business in Wolverhampton for the past decade. However, more than 8,000 miles away, one factory in China’s third largest city, Shenzhen, claims it employs 39 members of staff and can produce up to one million per week.
Another company in the port city of Quanzhou, in south east China, is selling sheets of 50 first class large barcoded stamps. The listing describes the fake stamps as “mint, new and read [sic] for posting”….
