Adverts on Facebook offered discounted Royal Mail second class stamps in the run up to Christmas.
But the ads linked to a scammer’s website, selling genuine-looking barcoded stamps which were worthless.
Heather Hancox, 73, from Liver-pool, paid £29.90 for 100 second class stamps, which should have cost £75 at 75p per stamp.
She saw an advert on Facebook headlined “Royal Postal Mail” which offered up to 60 per cent off the standard price for a limited period.
It clicked through to a website called theroyalmail.shop where the payment was taken via Paypal.
After she posted 47 cards the majority of recipients contacted her to say they had been hit with a fee.
She said: “It all looked like it was connected to the Royal Mail and was just a pre-Christmas offer, so I went ahead and bought them.
“The stamps looked completely genuine so I used them to send all my Christmas cards.
“Then friends and relatives phoned me to say they had got a note from Royal Mail demanding £5 because a counterfeit stamp had been used.”
Theroyalmail.shop is not affiliated with Royal Mail, whose official website is royalmail.com. It has since been taken offline.
Royal Mail introduced barcoded stamps in February 2022, making it easier to identify counterfeits.
Last October it doubled the £2.50 charge for recipients of post with a fake stamp. This must be paid before the item can be collected.
There has been a rise in reports of fake stamps being sold over the past three years. Yet officials fear it is
still greatly under reported due to the relatively small sums involved.
The Royal Mail said: “Counterfeit stamps are illegal and extremely costly to our business. We actively investigate fraudsters as we don’t like to see our customers ripped off. We recommend customers buy stamps from reputable high street outlets.”
Facebook said suspected scams could be reported at any time with reviewers removing content which violates its guidelines.
