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Forensic Science Institute of the Bavarian State Police, Germany

July 13th, 2010

Article By IPA Member: Leonard Rapoport
International Press Assoc.

Click Here To View PDF File:
From: Dr. Bernd Kopainsky
Subject: Bogus Press Card
Date: July 13, 2010 9:35:54 AM EDT
To: Leonard Rapoport

Dear Sirs,

The Forensic Science Institute of the Bavarian State Police, Germany, would appreciate a short answer to the following questions:

The press card you will find attached was allegedly issued by the International Press Association.
We expect it to be a bogus one.

Could you please inform us if it s a genuine press card issued by IPA London or not.
How do genuine IPA press cards look like? Could you send us an image?

thank you for your co-operation

with best regards

Dr. Bernd Kopainsky
Forensic Science Institute of the Bavarian State Police

Kriminaltechnisches Institut - KT 206

Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt
Maillingerstrasse 15
D-80636 Muenchen
GERMANY

Tel: ++49 89 1212 2206
Fax: ++49 89 1212 4206
bernd.kopainsky@polizei.bayern.de

Dear Dr. Kopainsky;

Thank you for sending us a copy of the card and this information on this fake IPA press card. As you rightfully concluded it is not one of ours and is bogus. We don't even label these counterfeit because they are not copies of our Press Identification which you can see on our web site on the banner ad on the left side of our pages.

These cards are fakes sold on the streets or on web sites and have been in circulation for a number of years. We are not sure if these are also being sold in Thailand or on the internet, but they are certainly not ours.

You can see an earlier version of this card printed on a white card stock at: featuredarticle_id=705

We have been contacted over the years from the New Scotland Yard regarding these cards as well as other international law enforcement authorities about the cards. Of course our sources have verified that there is no London office of IPA and the cards are totally fake.

Can you tell me how you came in possession of this card? We would like to add it to our article to serve other law and government enforcement agencies globally in recognizing the fake cards.

We only know of two other organizations that have been using our name. One is located in California and issues what we consider fake IPA press cards to their "members" in spite of our continued warnings not to do so and our letters to Cease and Desist, they continue their activities. Because we have not seen their cards, we cannot verify if this or others are the ones they have been distributing to their people. They claim that they only issue these cards to members of the Christian clergy but again we have no way to verify this.

You can visit their web site at: IPA News We can provide you with their presidents name and contact information should you need it. We have received a number of inquiries about their members over the years attempting to get discounts or free merchandise, but frankly nothing that we feel might be considered criminal. But again, we cannot verify their legitimacy and we know they have violated our registered US trademarks and copyrights, but that is another story and an ongoing problem we are dealing with.

The other International Press Association is located in Belgium and is a legitimate organization for journalists in their country.

To the best of our knowledge, they do not offer their members any press identification. Their contact information is located on their site at:

API Belgium

I hope this helps you with your inquiry. We would be happy to send you a scan of our card if you like to keep this in your files for comparison should you have the need. We have done this for other law enforcement and government agencies in the past.

Let us know if we can be of further services and thank you for allowing us the opportunity to help you in your investigations.

Sincerely,

Len Rapoport

President
International Press Association

From: Dr. Bernd Kopainsky
Subject: Re: Bogus Press Card
Date: July 14, 2010 2:57:19 AM EDT
To: Leonard Rapoport

Dear Mr. Rapoport,

thank you for your prompt response and the information you provided.

The bogus press card presented in our case was found during a drug control on a big party. The person said that the card was sent to him by a friend from Thailand.

Two facts make this statement plausible:

The card is meant to be used in Europe (Head Office London); many Germans pass their holidays in Thailand and are willing to purchase bogus press cards for a joke at home; a colleague of mine bought one for 3 USD in Khaosan Road, Bangkok

The card was printed in flexopress technique with a serial number, i.e. a larger number of cards were produced
The local police willl not investigate more in this particular case and a fine will do.

The NUS services Limited mentiond on the questioned press card is not a press agency but the National Union of Students (https://www.nussl.co.uk). Its function is to support unions licensed and retail trade operations as well as providing support services like consultancy and accreditation schemes.

So far we had no cases involving California IPA News.

We would like to ask you to send us a scan of your genuine card for our files for camparison.

Thanky you very much for your exhaustive help.

Dr. Bernd Kopainsky
Kriminaltechnisches Institut - KT 206

Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt
Maillingerstrasse 15
D-80636 Muenchen
GERMANY

Tel: ++49 89 1212 2206
Fax: ++49 89 1212 4206
bernd.kopainsky@polizei.bayern.de

Note: As you can see using a fake Press Card can not only cost you your freedom, but may incur criminal fines and penalties. Don't do it!

Go Back To Bogus IPA Cards, Page 1 • Page 2 • Page 3