Pakistani authorities arrest man accused in $126 million US postage fraud scheme
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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities acting on intelligence arrested a man Tuesday accused of running an online counterfeit postage operation that U.S. prosecutors say caused more than $126 million in losses to the U.S. Postal Service, Pakistan’s cybercrime investigation agency said.
Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested after a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, a senior official at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, Atif Ameer, told reporters.
Akram, a resident of Khanewal in eastern Punjab province, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district said in a Sept. 28 statement. The office alleged that Akram operated LabelsBank.com, an unauthorized website that sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels to more than 5,200 customers. The labels typically cost $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination.
The counterfeit labels allowed customers to ship packages at prices far below legitimate postal rates, resulting in lost revenue and shipping costs for the Postal Service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Its estimate of more than $126 million represents alleged losses to the Postal Service rather than proceeds from the website’s sales.
The Postal Service has warned of an increase in such counterfeit postage scams in recent years, with scammers selling fake stamps on social media marketplaces, e-commerce platforms and other websites. Scammers are also using counterfeit postage to ship stolen goods, according to the agency.
Last September, it launched an online reporting system for suspected counterfeit stamp and postage fraud.
Ameer said Pakistani investigators found that Akram operated the website from August 2023 through September 2026, and used 16 bank accounts for the business. Those included accounts held by Akram, his brother, wife, sister and aunt, he said.
It was unclear whether Akram would be extradited to the United States or face trial in Pakistan. An email to the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami on Wednesday was not immediately returned.
