Revealed: How Australia Post is fighting back against Chinese scammers

Australia Post is waging war on fraudsters in a move to halt the soaring number of fake products being sold to vulnerable Aussies. Here’s what to watch out for and how to protect yourself.

EXCLUSIVE: Australia Post is waging war on Chinese scammers with a new Artificial Intelligence counterfeit detection tool, in a move to halt the soaring number of fake stamps and satchels being sold to vulnerable Aussie consumers.

With thousands of fake products flooding the market per year, Australia Post has upped the ante in the bid to prevent customers from being duped.

The new AI tool automatically identifies counterfeit Australia Post postage and has already detected hundreds of fake products, leading to the removal of several million dollars’ worth of counterfeit items from online marketplaces.

Australia Post is waging war on scammers. Picture: Blake Foden

Australia Post is also working closely with Australian Border Force (ABF) to detect and intercept counterfeit products before they enter the country and reach customers.

Australia Post General Manager Group Security, Kevin Zuccato, said the quantity of counterfeit postage in circulation was deeply concerning and the sheer volume of the scams, with the majority originating in China, had led to Australia Post taking a different approach.

“We turned our minds to the development of a counterfeit detection tool which is in effect a scraping tool … we teach the tool to recognise sites that pop up on online marketplaces purporting to sell Australia Post products,” he said.

A pair of genuine Australia Post stamps from the Opals 2025 range. Picture: Supplied

Two counterfeit stamps, which are virtually the same as the genuine article due to the sophistication of the scam. Picture: Supplied

“We then collate the information in relation to the online websites that we’ve identified. We share that with our partners, the online marketplaces, which means that they can then go into their system and effectively delete that from their system, which means that people then can’t purchase those products.”

Mr Zuccato said the sophistication of the scams meant that it was difficult for customers to spot the difference between genuine and fake products.

A genuine Australia Post prepaid parcel bag (top image) compared to the counterfeit product below. Picture: Supplied

“What we’re seeing now is a very high degree of sophistication in the counterfeiting of stamps but also satchels,” he said.

“So they really get the colour right, they get the paper right, the ink is of a high standard. Believe it or not it’s quite a challenge to get the perforations in the right spot and they do all of those with a high degree of sophistication.”

A genuine Marine Emblems stamp, which is one of the most counterfeited Australia Post stamps. Picture: Supplied

A counterfeit version of the same stamp, which is slightly lighter in colour. Picture: Supplied

Mr Zuccato said the safest way to avoid buying counterfeit products was for customers to purchase stamps and satchels directly from any Post Office across Australia or via the Australia Post Online Shop.

“The Australian public needs to be really vigilant when they’re buying stamps and satchels and the advice is go to your local post office, go to your franchisee who you probably know and put your patronage into that business,” he said.

“Make sure that you put the money into the pockets of the people that are doing the right thing, not the people that are trying to scam you and defraud the country of your hard-earned money as well.”

The most counterfeited stamps, he said, include the 2025 Opals stamp range and the Marine Emblems range, which are commonly sold by fraudsters in rolls of 100.

In a statement, the Australian Border Force urged the public to stay vigilant.

“The ABF works closely with representatives from organisations such as Australia Post to identify companies and individuals who may be importing and selling counterfeit products,” the statement said.

“Anyone with information about suspicious activities is urged to contact www.borderwatch.gov.au. You help protect Australia’s border and the community by reporting suspicious activities.”

Originally published as Revealed: How Australia Post is fighting back against Chinese scammers