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🕵️ How to spot a fake Pokémon card

Eight quick checks for fake Pokémon cards (card stock, text, holo, texture, the back) and the warning signs in a listing, so you can buy with confidence in the UK.

Fake Pokémon cards are everywhere, from "too good to be true" listings to cheap packs at markets. The good news: most fakes fail a few simple checks. None of these needs special kit, and none damages the card. Check several, because one odd detail can be a printing quirk, but fakes usually get lots of things wrong at once.

1. Compare it with the real card

Look the card up (our card lookup shows the official picture) and put the two side by side. Check the artwork, the set symbol, the card number, the rarity mark and the layout. Fakes often copy a picture from the internet, so colours look washed out, too dark or slightly blurry.

2. Read the text

Spelling mistakes, the wrong font, odd spacing or wrongly coloured energy symbols are classic giveaways. So are numbers that make no sense, such as a Basic Pokémon with a huge HP or attacks doing silly amounts of damage.

3. Check the back

On a real English card the back has a deep blue border and a crisp swirl around the Poké Ball. Fakes are often too light, too purple or blurry, and the Poké Ball can sit slightly off-centre. Compare it with a card you know is genuine.

4. Look at the holo and texture

Real holo cards have the shine only where it belongs: the artwork on a classic holo, specific patterns on modern cards. Fakes often have a rainbow sheen over the whole card, or a glittery pattern that doesn't match. Modern full arts, Special Illustration Rares and similar cards have a fine texture you can feel; many fakes are completely smooth.

5. Feel the card stock

Fakes are often thinner, floppier, glossier or rougher than real cards. Hold it next to a real card from the same era: the difference is usually obvious once you compare them.

6. Try the light test

Shine your phone's torch through the card in a dark room. Real cards have a dark layer inside, so only a little light gets through; many fakes glow brightly. It's a good hint, not proof, so use it with the other checks.

7. Check the edges and cut

Look at the edge of the card. Genuine cards often show a thin dark line in the middle of the edge from that inner layer. Fakes may have rough or uneven cutting, or rounded corners that are the wrong size.

8. Skip the rip test

Tearing a card shows the inner layer, but it destroys the card. Everything above tells you just as much without the damage.

Warning signs in a listing

• The price is far below the card's value. A £200 card for £20 is almost never a bargain. Check the value in card lookup first.
• Stock photos or the same picture on lots of listings, instead of photos of the actual card.
• Words like "custom", "proxy", "orica", "replica" or "fan art" anywhere in the title or description.
• Lots of copies of the same chase card, all cheap, from one seller.
• Sealed packs or tins at a big discount, especially from sellers with no history. Fake packs are common too.