The level of fakes has improved over the years and it has become increasingly difficult to detect them. In Russia, you can get a fake stamp for relatively little money.
In the current year, the Border Guard has uncovered almost 350 stamp forgeries, which is many times the number compared to previous years.
Fake stamps can also be found in the passports of Russian citizens. The exact number is not known because the Border Guard does not keep statistics on the citizenships of border crossers. At the beginning of December, a Russian man was caught in Nuijamaa whose passport had up to 16 fake stamps.
By forging stamps, people try to circumvent the restrictions on staying in the Schengen area. The Border Guard has previously stated that almost all Russians who came to Finland in the fall have not returned to Russia within the deadline.
“Stamps are widely marketed on social media”
Novosti is told about the communication of the Southeastern Finland Border Guard that the quality of the fake stamps can be described as good. Their level has improved over the years.
The Southeastern Finland Border Guard states that it is not easy to uncover stamp forgeries. Checking the stamps is part of the departure or entry inspection.
– It is suspected that fake stamps are widely marketed on social media sites, there are several service providers and it is professional, says the communication department of the Southeastern Finland Border Guard.
The border guards have made their own observations about the false stamps made by the Russians. Some of them are used to put stamps on entry or departure documents, while others are used for various customs papers.
The price of a fake stamp starts at 36 euros
In Russia, making different stamps is not only easy, but very easy. To a large extent, it is due to the Russian work culture, where stamps are used a lot, while in Finland they are hardly used at all. Demand creates supply, so there are many companies specializing in stamps in the neighboring country.
‘s reporter, posing as an ordinary customer, contacted the companies that sell stamps and inquired whether it was possible to buy a stamper from them, which could be used to make border crossing stamps in the passport. It turned out that purchasing a stamp is easy. Everyone was ready to sell the stamp despite the fact that, according to the law, forgery can result in punishment. Exceptional data acquisition methods have been used in this story.
Through the Russian search engine Yandex, you can find several advertisements offering stamp counterfeiting services. For example, a Muscovite Sergei (this is the name he appears on the internet) promises to make stamps “without unnecessary questions”. A stamp that could be used to stamp a passport from a border crossing in Vaalimaa would cost 5,000 rubles (75 euros).
The stamp is promised to be delivered to the customer in one day. There is also a company in St. Petersburg that delivers the stamp without any unnecessary questions. The company in question was found on the social service VKontakte.
You can also find stamp dealers on the Telegram messaging service. A company based in the Russian city of Smolensk promises to make a stamp for 2,400 rubles (36 euros) and send it to any city in Russia.
In addition to private operators, an organized group can also be behind illegal activities. For example, in 2013, the Spanish police arrested (you switch to another service) Russian citizens suspected of forging border crossing stamps and visas.