Hit in the minefield! A batch of Chinese goods was intercepted by US customs

Who else got caught by taking advantage of the situation ...

More than 160,000 water-surfing orders were checked

Recently, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) released a new message, saying that officers from its Chicago International Postal Branch's Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team intercepted eight batches of cargo, containing a total of 162,000 ( 161,860 to be specific ) counterfeit U.S. stamps , which we commonly call "fake postage stamps . "

All the packages seized this time that used fake shipping labels came from China and had a face value of more than 118,000 US dollars .

As soon as the news came out, it caused heated discussions in the cross-border circle:

“—I’m going to be sued for eating a hamburger;

——Many of them want to make quick money;

——People who have been cheated will be PTSD after seeing this;

——We have arrested so many people in recent years, and you still dare to do it;

..."

For sellers, if they are caught in a water-related order fraud incident, their goods may be seized or confiscated, they will have to bear high fines, their stores may be closed, and their cash withdrawals may be frozen.

"I remember the time I suffered a loss. I was cheated by the freight forwarder who used a shipping bill. The goods were detained and the money was gone. In the end, I couldn't catch up with the peak season. "

"I also met a freight forwarder recommended to me by Xiaohongshu before. I used it without knowing much about it. I found out later that the goods were detained and I didn't get my money back. It's said that Chinese people don't cheat Chinese people."

For freight forwarders, fake shipping documents will disrupt the order of fair competition. Violators will gain low-price advantages and snatch away the business of regular freight forwarders, resulting in " bad money driving out good money " . When a large number of fake shipping documents are checked, it will cause the goods to be seized and transportation to be delayed, affecting the normal operation of the logistics network.

"I know a freight forwarder who started out on his own and bought a Maybach after two years."

Another freight forwarder mentioned: " Sellers who had been shipping from our company switched to other companies because other companies can run water orders for the final delivery, and their goods are of low value and they can afford to lose a few orders, so they are not afraid of being seized and auctioned off. "

Whether it is the seller who ships the goods or the freight forwarder who receives the goods and sends them on behalf of others, they have all experienced being cheated by shipping documents.

At present, these black and gray chain offenders are still "bringing forth new ideas" and their counterfeiting methods are becoming more advanced, making it difficult for sellers and freight forwarders to guard against them. "Except for experienced people, it is really difficult to judge whether these stamps are real or fake."

Chaos continues, crackdown continues

According to foreign media reports, the United States has been strictly investigating illegal activities in recent years, and has dealt a heavy blow each time. However, judging from the results, it seems that the deterrent effect on these offenders is limited.

In early 2023, the Postal Inspection Service teamed up with Customs and Border Protection in New York and Los Angeles to conduct counterfeit package interceptions, many of which contained packages with fake shipping bills .

In one operation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service seized $2.5 million worth of counterfeit stamps that entered the United States from China through the ports of Los Angeles and New York .

In March 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Dallas -Fort Worth International Airport seized 4,080 counterfeit U.S. stamps after inspecting packages labeled "handbooks/self-adhesive paper. " At the scene of the seizure, U.S. officials found that the printing quality of these U.S. stamps was very poor , and the perpetrators were identified.

In 2023 , UPS in the United States handled 4.6 billion parcels for the problem of siphoning accounts , including siphoning waybills , involving billions of dollars in freight . In May of the same year , UPS, USPS and other American express delivery companies launched strict measures to crack down on siphoning accounts.

In July 2024, UPS began a sweep of accounts with fraudulent shipments, with order numbers beginning with 1z59 and 1zy881 being the hardest hit. It was reported that hundreds of containers were detained as a result.

Not only the United States, in April 2024, the British Royal Mail also stated that it had seized 1.5 million fake stamps . And with the help of local law enforcement agencies, thousands of links suspected of selling fake stamps online have also been deleted.

The reason for the vigorous investigation into fake stamps is the surge in complaints about counterfeit stamps in the UK.

Prior to this, an investigation by Britain's Daily Telegraph found that four Chinese companies were supplying up to one million fake stamps a week, with each stamp selling for just 4p before being shipped to the UK.

In order to combat fake stamps in the UK market, in February 2022, the Royal Mail launched barcode stamps combined with security features. At the same time, it established a new team of experts to investigate customer complaints about the authenticity of stamps, and cooperate with retailers, e-commerce platforms, law enforcement agencies, etc. These measures have greatly cracked down on counterfeit stamps. For a time, the number of counterfeit stamps dropped significantly, with a reduction of up to 90% .

There was some deterrence at the time, but a group of offenders returned afterwards. "They are bold enough and are not afraid of going to jail. They just want to get rich by chance."

You have to make black money on the edge of a knife

At present, countries are still cracking down on fake postage labels. For example, U.S. postal inspectors regularly intercept packages containing forged postage labels .

It is worth noting that the United States has postal inspectors, also known as postal police, who have law enforcement powers and can seize packages with counterfeit stamps as part of a criminal investigation . Those in possession of counterfeit stamps can be sentenced to up to five years in prison .

In May 2023 , the head of a Chinese freight forwarding and logistics company was summoned and charged with forging and using false waybills.

The U.S. federal government accused her of delivering more than 9 million mail parcels containing false mail in the past six months , causing the U.S. Postal Service ( USPS ) to suffer losses of more than $60 million ( about RMB 423 million ) .

Not long ago, a special investigation by Rest of World mentioned that several users on Xiaohongshu were secretly selling US Postal Service slips, with the price range maintained at 60 cents to 80 cents per sheet , and guaranteed to be usable throughout the United States. Such prices are more than 80% lower than the regular postage cost .

Normally, these labels are sold for more than $8 each, but fake labels only cost a few dozen cents, so a group of sellers could not resist the temptation of such cost and bought in large quantities. The report mentioned that one seller bought 1,000 to 2,000 fake labels every day, and they were sent to a warehouse in the United States in PDF format since November last year.

In fact, on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, you can often see ultra-low-cost cross-border logistics advertisements such as " 10 yuan for 10 kilograms, 20 yuan per kilogram for air shipment to the United States " , and some people even openly accept orders for fake goods.

Many sellers are tempted by cheap prices, but in the end the gains do not outweigh the losses, for example:

Economic losses : In addition to the loss of goods and the freight and payment already paid , you will also have to bear the cost of paying additional freight, fines , and even be held legally responsible.

Store losses : In serious cases, the store may face penalties from the platform, such as store closure, fund freezing, etc.; in minor cases, the goods cannot be delivered in time, resulting in an increase in negative reviews, affecting the store's reputation, ranking , and search weight, which in turn affects sales performance .

The existence of shipping documents may not only cause chaos in the logistics network, but also affect the trust in the industry. For example, regular logistics companies may be questioned by customers due to this behavior, increasing the communication costs of cooperation and the difficulty of building trust.

In addition, it increases the difficulty of supervision and may have a negative impact on the overall image of Chinese goods exported to overseas markets, affecting the reputation and competitiveness of Chinese goods in the international market.

CBP said it has seen a significant increase in the number of counterfeit U.S. Postal Service stamps recently , especially during holidays such as Valentine's Day , and the quality of the counterfeit stamps is improving.

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