American Philatelic Society in Bellefonte Warns of Phone Scam

The Bellefonte-based American Philatelic Society says it has received a report of a phone scam in which individuals falsely claim to be members of the organization’s staff.

According to the APS, the callers asked for payment in advance to sell the stamp collection of the person who received the call. Phone numbers provided by the callers were connected to a fake voicemail recording purporting to be the APS.

‘To remind our members and stamp collectors across the country: the APS does not purchase stamp collections,’ a news release said. ‘The APS will never make an unsolicited call or offer to members or non-members, or pressure you to make an immediate decision or payment.’

All official APS correspondence occurs through the phone number (814) 933-3803 and the email domain stamps.org.

APS has reported the scam to law enforcement. Anyone who has experienced a similar scam is asked to contact Ken Martin at the APS. 

‘If you receive a suspicious call that you believe may not be from the American Philatelic Society, we encourage you to hang up and call the Society back at our official phone number,’ the news release said. ‘Likewise, if you receive an email claiming to be from the American Philatelic Society or American Philatelic Research Library, APS staff, or the APS Board, check the email address carefully to make sure that it is from stamps.org. Be especially careful if the email asks for sensitive information (like credit card information, birth dates, social security number, or passwords) or directs you to an external link.’

For more information visit stamps.org/Blog/post/potential-threat-of-phone-scams-aps-recommends-caution