Report a suspected fake Pokémon slab through the grading company's official fraud or review channel, not as a routine grading submission. A slab is a graded card sealed in a labeled hard-plastic holder; PSA starts with its Support Form, while CGC uses its published fraud-reporting email. Keep the holder sealed, photograph it, and check its certification before reporting. Verification may reveal discrepancies, but suspicious details are not proof of counterfeiting.
Table of Contents
- Check the certification and holder
- How to report a suspicious PSA slab
- How to report a suspicious CGC slab
- What evidence should the report include?
- Understand the guarantee limits
Check the certification and holder
PSA advises scanning the slab's barcode or using Certification Verification. Compare the returned certification details and publicly available item images with the card, label, and holder in front of you, as described in PSA's counterfeit guidance. CGC's Certification Verification tool serves a similar purpose and may provide high-resolution images.
Look for differences in the card, label layout, certification details, or visible condition. PSA also identifies these possible signs of a tampered holder: These signs justify a company review, but they do not establish that the card is counterfeit. Likewise, a matching certification record is a comparison point rather than a final authentication decision.
- Cloudy "frosting" around the sonic weld
- Fractures near the holder's edges
- Unusual flexibility
- Seams that appear opened
How to report a suspicious PSA slab
PSA's current terms direct collectors to contact Customer Service through the Support Form. PSA then provides instructions for submitting a Grade Guarantee Review through the Customer Request Center, according to PSA's Grade Guarantee terms. Wait for those instructions before shipping the slab.
After PSA receives and examines the item, it contacts the submitter about the next steps. If PSA determines that the item is authentic, it returns the slab and charges a $25 review fee plus return postage. PSA's 2023 guidance also refers to a Quality Assurance Request and free Item Verification instructions. Because that wording differs from the current terms, begin with the Support Form and follow the route PSA gives you for the specific item.
How to report a suspicious CGC slab
CGC instructs collectors who suspect fraud to report it immediately through the fraud-reporting email published in CGC's fraud-prevention notice. Use the address on CGC's own page rather than one copied from a marketplace post. Include the certification number and explain what differs from CGC's verification record or high-resolution images.
Do not open the holder to investigate; doing so can destroy useful evidence and affect guarantee eligibility. Follow any case-specific return instructions exactly. During its January 2025 investigation of certain Pokémon Prototype and Playtest cards, CGC told holders of listed certification numbers to halt transactions and use its Holder Review process. CGC said those cards represented less than 0.03% of the cards it had graded, so that targeted review was not evidence of a company-wide problem.
What evidence should the report include?
Give the grading company a compact, factual evidence package: Describe visible facts instead of declaring the slab fake. For example, write that the left seam appears open or that the card differs from the verification image.
If a requested record is unavailable because the slab was a gift or trade, say so plainly. Preserve the slab, packaging, listing, receipts, and correspondence while the company reviews the report. If several slabs are involved, document each certification number separately so the evidence does not become mixed.
- Clear photographs of the slab's front, back, label, barcode, edges, corners, and seams
- The complete certification number
- Notes identifying each mismatch found through certification verification
- The seller's name and the original listing, if available
- The purchase price, payment record, order confirmation, and shipping information
Understand the guarantee limits
A fraud report asks the company to investigate; it does not automatically create a right to reimbursement. The holder's condition and the available transaction records can affect whether a guarantee applies. PSA excludes items that arrive in counterfeit or tampered holders or labels from its guarantee.
CGC covers card authenticity only in genuine CGC holders and excludes counterfeit, tampered, damaged, unsealed, or altered CGC or CSG holders. CGC also requires purchase, seller, price, payment, and transaction documentation for a guarantee claim under its current guarantee terms. A report can therefore identify a counterfeit without producing compensation. PSA's submission terms also allow it to confiscate a compromised holder, remove or retain a counterfeit item, or turn it over to authorities when required by law.
