• Pope John Paul II
• Chess: Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov
• Fauna: Birds of Africa
• Scouts (various themes)
• Large scale images (John Paul II)
• Jan R. Blok: Fake & Bogus Junk (external link with extensive lists and illustrations)

A number of stamps (blocks or sheetlets) have recently appeared on Ebay and in the philatelic trade commemorating chess champions Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, which are purporting to be issued by the Palestinian National Authority and also bear a "Rotary" logo. THESE ARE ALL FORGERIES.

Note the incorrect inscriptions: Palestinian National Authority instead of the correct The Palestinian Authority, the missing currency Fils and several other errors! A number of similar products exist commemorating the Pope's 25th anniversary, 85th birthday, and death, also purporting to be "stamps" from Palestine, Kirgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Rwanda, The Congo, Benin, Tadjikistan, Mauretania, and Côte d'Ivoire. Other "states" issuing such fake stamps (apparently by the same graphic designer) include Gagauzia, Tatarstan, Karelia, Mordova, and others.

According to the PWO website and Motor Filatelisten Nederland the persons reponsible for these fake stamps include a certain ******* ***** from *******. I personally cannot prove this connection, but numerous websites make exactly that inference.

One seller of these stamps (1cheshire, a powerseller: John Rydzewski, P.O.Box R-S, Cheshire, CT 06410, USA) defends selling these fake product thus:

They are listed under cinderellas. What are you the gastapo.

A cinderella is a stamp which is not issued by a genuine state or postal organization. However in this case, these stamps claim to be of official status, as they bear the name of an existing state. In the description of 5652825196 and 5655184408, Mr. Rydzewski actually writes: "Palestinian National Authority, 2005 speculative issue. Garry Kasparov & Antoly Karpov, Chess masters on 4 sheets of 4. Mint NH. ". An implicit (but of course false) claim to legitimacy.

I agree not knowingly to sell, trade, produce, or advertise repaired, reperforated, 
regummed, altered, or otherwise modified philatelic items unless that condition is 
clearly stated. I further agree that forged stamps, fakes, facsimiles, and 
reproductions are allowed to be sold provided:

their sale does not violate applicable laws or copyrights,
the item is clearly and indelibly marked as a forgery, fake, facsimile or 
reproduction on the front or back, and
the seller's listing clearly states that the item is a forgery, fake, 
reproduction, or facsimile and includes an image of the marking.

1. Ich versichere, keine reparierte, nachgezähnte, nachgummierte oder anderweitig
veränderte philatelistische Lose anzubieten, es sei denn, dies ist ausdrücklich
vermerkt. Ferner versichere ich, dass ich Verfälschungen, Fälschungen, Faksimiles
oder Neudrucke nur dann anbiete, wenn
a. Ihr Verkauf nicht gegen Gesetze des Copyrights verstößt
b. das Material deutlich und unzweideutig als
   Verfälschung, Fälschung, Faksimile oder Neudruck auf der Vorder- oder Rückseite
   gekennzeichnet ist
c. in der Verkaufsbeschreibung eindeutig vermerkt ist, dass es sich um eine
   Verfälschung, Fälschung, ein Faksimile oder einen Neudruck handelt und
   zusätzlich die Kennzeichnung als solche abgebildet ist.

2. Ich versichere, philatelistisches Material nach besten Wissen und
Gewissen und keinesfalls in betrügerischer Absicht anzubieten. Ich vermeide
insbesondere irreführende Aussagen zur Seltenheit, zum Wert oder einer möglicher
Wertsteigerung des angebotenen Loses.
							
3. Ich versichere, kein philatelistisches Material anzubieten, auf das andere einen
Erstanspruch haben.

4. Ich versichere, den Erstehungspreis umgehend dem Bieter zurückzuzahlen, wenn von
einem von ebay autorisierten Experten festgestellt wurde, dass das Los von mir
falsch oder nicht eindeutig, also irreführend, beschrieben wurde.

5. Die Kürzel „o.O.“ (ohne Obligo), „Wie besehen“ oder vergleichbares werde ich
nicht benutzen.

If you bought these sheetlets, e.g. won an auction at Ebay, in the belief they were official postage stamps, you should cancel the bid and not make any payments. I appeal to buyers to report to me the reaction by the vendors. You should also notify Ebay (eg. via http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index.html or your local ebay domain + /help/basics/select-RS.html, e.g. http://pages.ebay.de/help/basics/select-RS.html). I have alerted all sellers and buyers on Ebay as well as Ebay itself. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly!