Honest people who come into possession of an altered card sell it as altered and note what appears to have been done. That's not new or rare, there are plenty of examples every day.
Nobody believes one can not do what they wish with their own private property.
The criticism made throughout this thread is the people who alter cards, and then submit and sell them without any disclosure (the part that makes it fraud) of the work they have done or paid others to do. The people altering cards do not disclose it. They know perfectly well why they never disclose it, because honesty doesn't pay out as well as fraud. We all know that X card honestly listed and publicly known as altered will sell for less than X card listed dishonestly and not known to be a doctors work as a clean PSA Y. If it had no effect on value, there would be no reason for our scammers to mask the alterations - the only reason to commit the act is the $$$.
It's not so much accepted in vintage land as it is the pet project of a vocal minority that dodge and dance around the key part of non-disclosure in their justifications for the crime. The crooks used to pay lip service against fraud and try not to get caught, now they just celebrate it. Probably a better strategy in the long run for success, since they care not about even basic ethics.
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