China is flooding Britain with fake stamps as rogue firms land thousands of ... trends now
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Thousands of fake stamps are entering Britain from China, leaving victims paying £5 penalties to collect their post.
Royal Mail was on Wednesday night urged to investigate what security experts called 'economic warfare', with forgeries from the Far East said to be behind the rise in complaints from customers that stamps bought from legitimate sources are being flagged as counterfeit.
It is understood that convincing copies, sold for as little as 4p each, are being purchased by smaller retailers, who are not obliged to buy directly from the Royal Mail and can instead buy them from wholesalers or online.
Websites seen by the Mail based in China offer sheets of 50 counterfeit stamps at a time, complete with Royal Mail's new barcode – designed to make the post more secure and efficient – for those willing to commit to a minimum purchase of 20,000.
Last night, Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake said he would work with Royal Mail and retailers to investigate. He told the Mail: 'It is key to prevent counterfeit stamps entering our supply chain in the UK.
Thousands of fake stamps are flooding Britain from China, with Royal Mail urged to investigate what has been termed 'economic warfare'
'The Royal Mail must do everything possible to prevent counterfeits entering our circulation and must establish where they are coming from and how they are entering our marketplace.'
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, called for a criminal inquiry, likening the scam to printing money.
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