The penalties for counterfeit postage run from a federal counterfeiting charge carrying up to five years in prison, to mail fraud charges that push the maximum to 20 years, plus civil damages, administrative discontinuance orders, and the loss of any mail you sent with the fake stamps. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has seized more than $16.2 million worth of counterfeit stamps since October 2024 and issued 358 discontinuance orders to individuals and businesses caught using them.1United States Postal Service. Inspection Service to Consumers: Don’t Fall for Fake Stamp Schemes What follows lays out each layer of exposure, from criminal statutes to what happens to your packages.
Federal Criminal Penalties
Three statutes target counterfeit postage directly, and prosecutors routinely stack mail fraud on top of them.
18 U.S.C. 501 — Counterfeiting U.S. Postage
This is the primary statute. It reaches forging or counterfeiting postage stamps, meter stamps, stamped envelopes, and postal cards, along with making, printing, knowingly using, knowingly selling, or possessing counterfeit postage with intent to use or sell it. Even producing paper that imitates the watermark of a stamped envelope is covered. Penalty: a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 501 – Postage Stamps, Postage Meter Stamps, and Postal Cards
18 U.S.C. 502 — Foreign Government Stamps
Section 502 extends the same prohibition to postage and revenue stamps issued by foreign governments, with the same maximum of five years in prison and a fine.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 502 – Postage and Revenue Stamps of Foreign Governments
18 U.S.C. 503 — Postmarking Stamps
Section 503 covers a related form of fraud: forging or counterfeiting the postmark stamps that indicate when and where mail was processed. Making, knowingly using, or possessing with intent to sell a counterfeit postmarking stamp or impression carries the same five-year maximum and fine.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 503 – Postmarking Stamps
18 U.S.C. 1341 — Mail Fraud
This is where the exposure multiplies. When someone sells counterfeit postage through the mail, or uses the postal system as part of a broader fraud scheme, prosecutors add mail fraud charges. Mail fraud carries up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1341 – Frauds and Swindles In a recent case, a San Diego man who sold $6 million worth of counterfeit stamps through an online marketplace faced both counterfeiting and mail fraud charges.6United States Department of Justice. San Diego Man Indicted for $6 Million Counterfeit U.S. Postage Stamp Scheme The mail fraud charge alone carried four times the maximum sentence of the counterfeiting charge.
Whether You Knew the Postage Was Fake
The word that carries the most weight in these statutes is “knowingly.” For using or selling counterfeit postage, federal law requires that the person knew the postage was counterfeit. For possession, prosecutors must show intent to use or sell it.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 501 – Postage Stamps, Postage Meter Stamps, and Postal Cards
If you bought stamps from a third-party seller without realizing they were fake, that matters. Innocently using a counterfeit stamp you believed was genuine is not the same as knowingly using one. The defense gets much harder to maintain, though, when the stamps came at a 50 percent discount from an overseas vendor on social media. Scammers commonly sell fakes at 20 to 50 percent of face value.7United States Postal Inspection Service. Counterfeit Postage Even if criminal charges never come, the mail still won’t move.
Civil Suits and Discontinuance Orders
Criminal prosecution isn’t the government’s only tool. The Department of Justice has filed civil enforcement actions under the False Claims Act against businesses that ship packages with counterfeit postage labels. Those suits seek injunctive relief, treble damages (three times the government’s losses), and per-claim penalties.8United States Department of Justice. United States Files Civil Enforcement Action and Obtains Temporary Restraining Order to Stop Queens-Based Logistics Company and Others from Shipping Packages from China with Counterfeit Postage Labels For a high-volume shipper running fake labels on thousands of packages, civil exposure can dwarf a criminal fine.
Administratively, the Postal Inspection Service issues voluntary discontinuance orders. 358 have gone out to individuals and businesses since October 2024.1United States Postal Service. Inspection Service to Consumers: Don’t Fall for Fake Stamp Schemes Each order requires the recipient to stop using counterfeit postage immediately. Violating a discontinuance order escalates the matter and removes any plausible claim that the person didn’t know what they were doing.
What Happens to Your Mail
Under revised Domestic Mail Manual rules, any mail bearing counterfeit postage is treated as abandoned. USPS can open it and dispose of it at its discretion. It is not returned to the sender.9Federal Register. 39 CFR Part 111 Counterfeit Postage – Final Rule The Postal Service’s rationale is that affixing counterfeit postage reflects a refusal to pay for the service.
Packages with counterfeit labels can also be seized as part of a criminal investigation.10United States Postal Inspection Service. U.S. Postal Inspection Service Warns Consumers About Counterfeit Postage The Postal Inspection Service, working with Customs and Border Protection, has interdicted entire freight shipments of packages with counterfeit labels at processing centers in New York and Los Angeles, refusing them entry into the country. For packages seized specifically for unpaid postage, the USPS Package Fraud Prevention Team handles inquiries.7United States Postal Inspection Service. Counterfeit Postage Recovery of contents is not guaranteed.
The Trap for E-Commerce Sellers
Online sellers are the group most exposed here. Discount postage listings have spread across social media and third-party marketplaces, and many sellers buy in bulk to cut shipping costs without knowing they’ve bought fakes. The Postal Inspection Service has specifically warned that scammers target sellers with bulk quantities of counterfeit stamps and labels at 20 to 50 percent below face value.7United States Postal Inspection Service. Counterfeit Postage
The consequences cascade. Customer packages get seized or destroyed. Chargebacks and complaints follow. Seller accounts get flagged. A discontinuance order, a civil suit, or a criminal investigation may follow after that. The safe purchasing channels are USPS directly, usps.com, or an authorized postage vendor such as Stamps.com or Pitney Bowes.
How to Report Counterfeit Postage
The Postal Inspection Service handles all counterfeit postage investigations. If you’ve received mail with suspected counterfeit stamps or labels, or seen counterfeit postage for sale online, report it through the Counterfeit Postage Reporting System at uspis.gov/report and select the “Counterfeit Postage” option, which covers both sale and use.11United States Postal Inspection Service. Report You can also call 1-877-876-2455.
Include where the postage was purchased, the seller’s name or online profile, the price, and any physical characteristics that seemed off. Preserve the packaging with the suspicious postage attached rather than discarding it. Detailed reports from the public are one of the primary ways Postal Inspectors identify new counterfeit operations.10United States Postal Inspection Service. U.S. Postal Inspection Service Warns Consumers About Counterfeit Postage