Probably Stolen: How to Spot Fake Food Stamps and Use Them at the Commissary

In Probably Stolen: Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim, a customer may offer you a Food Stamp. It is a prepaid card that only buys food at the Commissary, and forged copies are common in the Lower Levels. The Commissary will not accept a fake, and you only find out it is fake when it fails to redeem. That means the check has to happen at your counter, before you pay.

Quick answer: A genuine Food Stamp only comes in 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 or 240 Credits, with correct lettering, the logo, a security seal only at 160 or more and an undamaged chip. Anything else is a forgery.

Genuine Food Stamp values and the security seal rule

Start with the printed value, because it is the fastest check. The Republic Food Stamp Authenticity Handbook lists six values and no others. The value also tells you whether a security seal should be on the card.

Handbook page comparing genuine and fake Food Stamp lettering, logos and chips beside the shop counter. — The Station Trade Commission’s Republic Food Stamp Authenticity Handbook shows how to spot forgeries by checking the lettering, logo, security seal, stamp value and chip.

Printed value	Security seal
40 Credits	No seal
80 Credits	No seal
120 Credits	No seal
160 Credits	Seal required
200 Credits	Seal required
240 Credits	Seal required

Any value that is not on that list, such as 100 or 300 Credits, is fake. The seal rule also works in both directions. A 40, 80 or 120 stamp with a seal is wrong, and a 160, 200 or 240 stamp without one is wrong too. The threshold to remember is 160 Credits.

How to inspect a Food Stamp with the Magnifying Glass

The stamp’s tooltip reads “Can be inspected with a Magnifying Glass”. Ignore the “[Label] Genuine” tag displayed there. Mentor’s Note: Item Labels explains that labels can be changed on some items, allowing a counterfeit to display a genuine label.

Drag the Magnifying Glass from the counter onto the Food Stamp on the ledge. A magnifier window opens over the stamp, with a Counterfeit Check box in its bottom-right corner.

Magnifier window over a Food Stamp with the Counterfeit Check box — The magnifier window over a Food Stamp, with the Counterfeit Check box bottom right.

Move the lens over each part of the stamp by dragging its handle; dragging anywhere else moves the whole window. Check the value and seal against the table above, then work through the lettering, logo and chip.

If you find a fault, tick it in the Counterfeit Check box (Lettering Issues, Logo Issues, Seal Issues, Value Issues or Chip Issues) and press Confront. A correct call makes the client adjust the price. A wrong call costs you Reputation.

Drag the stamp from the ledge onto an empty spot on your counter. It then shows in the SELLING list with its new price, and you can buy it or turn it down.

These are the other faults the handbook tells you to look for:

Lettering: genuine stamps read REPUBLIC SOCIAL PROGRAM. A bolder font is an Incorrect Font, and “REPUBLIC SOCAL PROGRM” is an Incorrect Spelling. Misaligned text, odd colors or missing letters are also signs of a fake.
Logo: the genuine emblem is a round crosshair. A stamp with no logo is incorrect.
Chip: every stamp has one. A missing or damaged chip makes the stamp unusable, even if the stamp is genuine.

The chip is the one check a genuine stamp can fail. A real card with a missing or damaged chip still won’t work, so don’t pay for it either. The full counterfeit routine, with every reason you can pick, is in how to use the Magnifying Glass and Confront a customer.

Example: a 160-credit stamp with no security seal

On Day 12 of our Mark Up run a Scav put a Food Stamp (160 Credits) on the ledge. Its tooltip showed Est. Value 120, Base Value 120 and the same “[Label] Genuine” tag as a real stamp.

Food Stamp (160 Credits) tooltip on the ledge with Est. Value 120 — The Scav’s Food Stamp (160 Credits) on Day 12.

Under the lens the lettering read REPUBLIC SOCIAL PROGRAM in the right font and spelling, and the round crosshair logo was there.

Magnified Food Stamp lettering reading REPUBLIC SOCIAL PROGRAM — Lettering: correct.

The chip was intact too. What the card did not have was a security seal, and every stamp printed at 160 Credits or more carries one.

Magnified Food Stamp chip, intact, with no security seal — Chip intact, but no security seal on a 160-credit stamp.

We ticked Seal Issues and pressed Confront. Dragged onto the counter, the stamp then appeared in the SELLING list as “Food Stamp (Counterfeit)” for 7 credits. The Condition line had Genuine (0%) struck out and Counterfeit beneath it, and Market and Merchant showed “Good Inspection Discount (-15%)”. That is 7 credits for a card valued at 120 before the check.

SELLING list showing Food Stamp (Counterfeit) at 7 credits with Good Inspection Discount — After Seal Issues and Confront: Food Stamp (Counterfeit), 7 credits.

What a Food Stamp is worth at the counter

Food Stamps trade for less than the value printed on them, because they can only buy food. A Food Stamp (200 Credits) shows “Est. Value: 150, Base Value: 150” in its tooltip. Redeem a stamp at the Commissary to buy Food.

Shop counter with a masked customer behind glass and a tooltip describing a Food Stamp worth 200 credits. — A tooltip for a Food Stamp (200 Credits) that is not owned yet, showing an estimated value of 150, a Genuine label and the Double-Click To Redeem prompt.

Commissary prices also stay fixed while counter prices move. For example, during the Nutrifruit Seed Shortage (+33% Food), a customer paid 37 for one Peat. The Commissary price for Peat is 25.

When Food Stamps and the Commissary unlock

Two starting perks control this system:

Welfare Program (costs 1 point): The Commissary is available immediately, and your total wealth determines whether you get Food Stamps on Mondays.
Banned from the Commissary (gives 1 point): you cannot access the Commissary, and no food stamps appear.

In our Mark Up run with neither perk, a Scav brought Food Stamps into the run on Day 11 and laid four things on the window ledge. Those are Mentor’s Note: Food Stamps, Mentor’s Note: The Commissary, a Food Stamp Identification Handbook and a Food Stamp (200 Credits). Double-click a note or the handbook to open it. The handbook opens as the Republic Food Stamp Authenticity Handbook, and its footer says “The differences should be obvious at a glance.”

Pixel-art shop counter with a lined note about Food Stamps open on the left and a masked customer behind glass. — The Mentor’s Note: Food Stamps document is open at the pawn shop counter, explaining how Food Stamps work, how to redeem them at the Commissary and that some are forged.

How to get to the Commissary and use Food Stamps

The Commissary is run by the Republic and only takes Food Stamps. The Mentor’s note says to visit it after closing the Store: like the Dumping Ground and Dr. Jackson, it is one of the after-hours locations you pick from once the shutter is down.

This is the route we took on Day 12 of our Mark Up run:

Close the store for the day, then click the door on the left wall (“Leave the Store”). The game asks: “You should keep your counter clear to make sure you have enough space to bring back all the items you might acquire. Are you sure you want to go out?” Choose Yes.

Prompt asking if you are sure you want to go out and to keep the counter clear — The prompt when you leave the store after closing.

In “Select a Backpack To Take”, pick a backpack such as a Fanny Pack, or the plastic bag to go out without one.

Select a Backpack To Take grid with a plastic bag and a fanny pack — Pick a backpack, or the plastic bag to go without one.

The Station Rapid Transit System map lists the Dumping Ground, the Commissary and Dr. Jackson. Select the Commissary and press Travel. The map also shows the Commissary’s modifier for the day; on our Friday it read “Fresh Restock (Today only)”, +35% of max stock.

Station Rapid Transit System map with Dumping Ground, Commissary and Dr. Jackson — The Station Rapid Transit System map.

Inside the Commissary the bottom panel shows a Ground grid next to Pocket #1, Backpack and Pocket #2 slots, with Trade and Return buttons. Return takes you back to the store.

Commissary shelves with the Ground grid, pockets and backpack slots — Inside the Commissary.

Press Trade to open the Commissary counter. Prices are in Commissary Tokens, the top line reads “Redeemed Commissary Token” with your balance, and the “Redeem Valid Food Stamps” button is where you redeem the stamps you carry.

Commissary token shop with prices for seven items and the Redeem Valid Food Stamps button — The Commissary counter: prices in Tokens and Redeem Valid Food Stamps.

A trip out has a cost back at the store. After our Commissary visit the next Nightly Report said “You open up the store late due to last night’s activities and missed out on one customer.”

A Food Stamp’s tooltip reads “Redeem it at the Commissary to buy Food.” and “Double-Click To Redeem”. A forged stamp shows itself at this point, because it fails to redeem, which is why the check belongs at your counter.

Every Commissary price matches the item’s base value and does not change during market events. What does change with the market is how much stock is on the shelves.

Item	Category	Commissary price (Tokens)	Max stock	In stock (Day 12, Fresh Restock)
Nutrifruit	Hydroponics	12	20	19
Pilk	Food and Drink	16	12	10
Puice	Food and Drink	14	12	10
Peat	Food and Drink	25	12	10
Galaxy Blend	Food and Drink	25	10	10
Sealed Water Ration (Standard)	Food and Drink	30	8	8
Basic Bandage	Medicine	8	8	8

Two after-hours events also change the shelves. Fresh Restock happens every Friday and adds 35% of max stock. A Burglary leaves the shelves cleared, and stock stays reduced for one day. If you are holding a verified stamp, the best time to spend it is just after a Friday restock. Then sell the food at your counter when a food price event pushes prices above what the Commissary charges.

Food Stamps are one of several items with their own counterfeit tells; the guide to spotting fakes covers every item manual. Related guides: every Mentor’s Note, the items list with base values, how to make money fast and the complete Probably Stolen guide.