Ebay stamp collector scandal

Poststructural Pub
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from
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17171372/

It may be the stickiest scam on the Internet — a nine-year saga of deceit that has seen thousands of altered postage stamps sold to unwitting collectors on eBay and other Internet auction sites. More striking than its longevity, though, is that the mastermind has never been charged with a crime, even though his identity apparently is known to eBay security, law enforcement officials and some of the nation’s leading stamp experts. …

Scary information for collectors of all types. A lot of collectibles are relatively easy to forge or fake. In the above case real stamps were enhanced by added preforations or removing cancellations and then being sold as the higher value type of stamp.

Odds are that there are few or no stamp collectors here, but plenty of folks trade other goods on Ebay and some trade collectibles. Be careful. This is a known scandal involving millions of dollars and the authorities can not or will not shut down the scammer, only make him get new ebay IDs and open up shop again. There are thousands of unknown problems that fly under the radar.

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Where do I sign up? :smiling_imp:

djm

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Don’t even think about trying it. Most stamp forgeries are actually quite easy to spot. On the other hand, the expert forgers have an incredible knowledge of paper, ink, and glue of the period, plus the fine motor skills of a surgeon. If you get the urge to collect or invest in rare stamps, make sure they have been certified by the American Philatelic Foundation.

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Whistles. It’s the only answer.