Pak man arrested for allegedly running fake postage label website that cost USPS $126 million

A 33-year-old Pakistani man has been arrested for allegedly running an online counterfeit postage operation that caused more than $126 million in losses to the US Postal Service (USPS), Pakistani authorities said on Tuesday.The man was arrested following a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country. (Unsplash/Representational image)According to a report by the New York Post, Faheem Akram, a resident of Khanewal in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, was arrested following a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, Atif Ameer, a senior official with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, told reporters. Akram was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, the US Attorney’s Office for the district said in a statement.Prosecutors alleged that Akram operated LabelsBank.com, an unauthorised website that sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels to over 5,200 customers. The labels were typically priced at $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination. They allowed customers to ship packages at prices significantly lower than legitimate postal rates, resulting in lost revenue and shipping costs for the USPS, the outlet reported citing US Attorney’s Office.The estimated $126 million in losses refers to the alleged financial damage to the postal service, rather than the proceeds generated by the website.(Also Read: Indian novelist refuses to share food after realising co-traveller is Pakistani)How the alleged counterfeit postage scheme workedAmeer said Pakistani investigators found that Akram had operated the website from August 2023 through September 2026. According to the official, Akram used 16 bank accounts to run the business. These included accounts held by him and members of his family, including his brother, wife, sister and aunt.The investigation involved a search spanning several parts of Pakistan before Akram was arrested on Tuesday, Ameer said.It remains unclear whether Akram will be extradited to the United States or face trial in Pakistan. The US indictment accuses him of operating the unauthorised postage label website, which allegedly enabled thousands of customers to obtain counterfeit shipping labels at a fraction of legitimate postal rates. The case concerns alleged losses to the US Postal Service exceeding $126 million.