There was a recent string of posts on Patch-L regarding counterfeit postal money orders. Rob Higgins the webmaster, OA Section List http://www.oasections.com/ quotes some information contained in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_order:
“On the other hand, recently (2006) there has been a significant increase in sightings of counterfeit postal money orders. Often, such a counterfeit will be sent to an unwitting victim who is instructed, on some pretext, to deposit it at his bank and return some of the funds. The victim is more likely to trust an “official” money order than a regular check, for the reasons given above. However, because money orders are paid through the postal service rather than the usual check clearing system, they often take longer to “bounce” than an ordinary check. When this finally occurs it is charged back to the victim, who may already have sent back the funds, for which he or she must take the loss.
Further on, the article quotes ways to tell the difference between the genuine article and a fake.
Security features of U.S. Postal Money Orders
- PMOs are generally regarded as one of the most difficult financial documents to counterfeit
- Watermarks. Telltale watermark when held up to the light should reveal images of Benjamin Franklin, repeated on the left side (top to bottom)
- Dark security strip running alongside the watermark (top to bottom), just to the right. If held to the light, a microfiber strip will show tiny letters “USPS” along its length, facing backward and forward.
- Rainbow of inked patterns and tones.
- PMOs are printed on crisp, clean, textured paper stock.
- Maximum value of $1000 for domestic (US) postal money orders, and $700 for International Postal Money Orders.
- Denominations appear in two locations. If the denomination amounts are discolored, that indicates that they have been erased.
- Ultra-Violet features include the above mentioned micro-fiber strip that glows red, and the PMO number on the reverse side and the bottom which will also appear red under UV light.
- Postal Money Orders are NEVER sequentially numbered, which is common with counterfeits
Just looking to pass some information for the wary seller.
