"People should collect stamps for fun, not for monetary gain." How often have we heard that noble sentiment? Of course, the basis for this type of thinking goes back to the massive boom in collectibles during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Lured in by histories of 20 or even 30 percent annual increases in value, many investors poured money into the philatelic market, for a while driving prices to record levels, but eventually pulling their money out and causing the most drastic drop in stamp values in the history of the hobby. Although most of the investors are long gone, many stamp collectors and dealers are still trying to recoup their losses from this period. Thus, the increased focus on collecting stamps for fun rather than profit. Unfortunately, philately is not quite that simple.

Just how "fun" is stamp collecting when not only do philatelists fail to make a profit, but even worse, they find out that they have been the victim of frauds they never imagined possible. For over 20 years now, I have written about and exposed these scams in our hobby. Regrettably, all too often, I was a "voice in the wilderness." In a system where the philatelic publications rely on advertising to stay in business, few of these publications have been willing to expose the exploits of some of their biggest advertisers. Even more troublesome is the fact that our hobby's supposed watchdogs, associations like the American Philatelic Society, the American Stamp Dealers Association, and other international organizations, often wear the same blinders as the publications, although for different reasons. How can an organization police the hobby when the crooks themselves are sometimes in prominent positions within these organizations?

My latest book, "A Simple Guide to Detecting and Understanding Regummed, Reperforated, Altered, and Faked Stamps--Including an Insider's Account of the 'Organized Crime' of Philately," tells of many of these frauds--some of which have never before been published. I wish I could say that I have already written about all the philatelic frauds of the last two decades, but the truth is that in the two months since my book came out, I have already discovered over half a dozen other scams--several of which are using the Internet to continue to rip off unsuspecting collectors.

In future columns, I will be exposing the frauds that I encounter, as well as telling some of the "stories behind the stories" that appeared in my book. Knowing who the crooks are and whom you can trust, however, is only half of the process. Ultimately, every philatelist's best protection comes from learning for themselves how to detect stamps that have been altered or faked, for as long as there are stamp collectors, there will be a handful of crooked dealers out to take advantage of these collectors, and very few organizations--including law enforcement agencies--willing to shut down these shady dealers.