Counterfeit Postal Money Orders

According to the FBI and postal inspectors, there has been a significant surge in the use of Counterfeit Postal Money Orders since October 2004. More than 3,700 counterfeit postal money orders (CPMOs) were intercepted by authorities from October to December 2004, and according to the USPS, the "quality" of the counterfeits is so good that ordinary consumers can easily be fooled.
On March 9, 2005, the FDIC issued an alert stating that it had learned that counterfeit U.S. Postal Money Orders had been presented for payment at financial institutions.
On April 26, 2005, Tom Zeller Jr. wrote an article in The New York Times regarding a surge in the quantity and quality of the forging of U.S. Postal Money Orders, and its use to commit online fraud. The article shows a picture of a man that had been corresponding with a woman in Nigeria through a dating site, and received several fake postal money orders after the woman asked him to buy a computer and mail it to her.
Who has received Counterfeit Postal Money Orders (CPMOs):
• Small Internet retailers.
• Classified advertisers.
• Individuals that have been contacted through email or chat rooms by fraudsters posing as prospective social interests or business partners, and convinced to help the fraudsters unknowingly.
The penalty in the United States of America for making or using counterfeit postal money orders is up to ten years in jail and a US$25,000 fine.