• Courtesy
• Megan Humphrey

As the executive director of a nonprofit that assists older Vermonters, Megan Humphrey sends a lot of mail. So she was thrilled this year when she found gold-embossed stamps online at a third of the price she'd pay at a post office.

In mid-December, Humphrey enlisted volunteers to stick the stamps onto 1,600 pieces of mail intended for clients of Helping and Nurturing Diverse Seniors, or HANDS. Each envelope included a personalized message and a $20 gift card for groceries.

Humphrey and her husband, Terry, mailed them in Burlington and Charlotte.

The next day, Humphrey got a phone call. The discounted postage stamps she had bought from a website called "USPS Fast Stamps" were counterfeit, a postal inspector told her. Using fake stamps is illegal, but Humphrey said the inspector told her she wouldn't face legal action. He returned the envelopes and used the incident as a teachable moment. The only legal way to buy stamps is through the U.S. Postal Service. Humphrey said she learned that many counterfeit stamps are so sophisticated that they often successfully pass through postal equipment that is intended to catch fakes.

"He was so nice about it," Humphrey said, shocked to learn that she had broken the law. "He said, 'We're not going to charge you.'"

Humphrey weathered some joking from board members about her brush with the law. After a quick fundraising campaign to buy new stamps, and more help from volunteers, the envelopes went out again, this time with real stamps pasted over the fake ones.

The Postal Service says on its website that fake stamp scams are on the rise. While some big-box stores do sell stamps, sometimes with very small discounts, eye-catching deals are a sign that something is wrong.