Internet stamp scam

According to Mike Brunker of MSNBC, for the past nine years thousands of altered postage stamps have been sold to unwitting collectors on eBay and other Internet auction sites.

Brunker writes, "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."

"The rip-offs have been occurring intermittently on eBay and other auction sites since at least 1998, generating millions of dollars in illicit profits for the mastermind, according to the collectors, who have united under the rubric Stamp Collectors Against Dodgy Sellers, or SCADS."

Shown above, George Kopecky shows one of his many files that illustrate how the eBay forger alters stamps before reselling them for a profit.

He's quoted in the article as saying, “I’m just a collector who got a little pissed off by what I saw as criminal activity going on with impunity.”

To read the entire story (along with a slide show) click here.

For a related article by Sheryll Oswald, click here.