The U.S. Postal Service says it’s progressing in the war against counterfeit postage, but hasn’t said how much the quasi-governmental corporation has lost to forgers, chiefly located in China.
As the holiday mailing season approaches, the agency said it’s on the lookout for the fakes.
Advertised on Facebook and other social media, the half-price “discount” postage is touted as costing a fraction of the current 66-cent first-class postage rate as a “closeout” item.
Modern printing techniques and the ability of forgers to apply phosphorescent “tagging” — invisible to the naked eye but seen by letter sorting equipment — has made it possible to create duplicates that can fool many consumers.
In a video briefing Tuesday, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said “different types of detection methodologies” have led to a “significant, over 50% reduction” in the number of packages tendered with counterfeit postage.