COUPON FRAUD-FRAUDULENT COUPONS+USING COUPONS FRAUDULENTLY-EDUCATE YOURSELF!

Image Credit: Fabulessly Frugal
There are so many fraudulent coupons floating around right now, as well as talks ofusing coupons Fraudulently , so I thought I’d repost this post to clarifly both of these situations! I feel very strongly that if you are couponer or even just beginning to use coupons, it is our duty to be educated about this.

If you are going to coupon, which is the equivalent of Making Extra Money for your family, then you should take it that seriously and “Be armed” with knowledge…in other words, KNOW YOUR TRADE ! It’s like working a job and getting paid to do it, but not knowing the rules? That would be absurd!

So, here we go. If you are serious about couponing to save at least $50-100 per week, it’s a MUST.

First up is to know that You CANNOT Copy coupons! It enrages me every time I see someone on Facebook posting that they got 10 coupons because they copied them (and those comments are daily across the blogosphere!). THIS IS FRAUD. Each individual coupon is verifiable through www.veri-fi.com for ONE TIME USE. The coupon format, barcode and scan numbers are coded with the information that tells the retailer, manufacturer and/or coupon verification software what I.P. address was used (your location) and is traceable directly back to you. So if you make copies, once they are used and then returned as invalid, it can be traced to you having made illegal copies. You can and will be prosecuted for Coupon Fraud. Penalties for those convicted of coupon fraud related crimes vary by each case and the number of laws violated.Here’s the breakdown on that:

As of this date:

Longest prison sentence: 17 years

Highest financial penalty: $5 million

Prison sentences of three to five years are not uncommon

Financial penalties generally vary, but have often been in excess of $200,000

OK, that’s for the obvious, that you should definately know is a “NO, NO” in the coupon rulebook. I hope that we don’t have anyone here that is doing this. It is the reason behind all of the problems we have at the register and all of the suspicions behind internet printable coupons. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!!

Next big mistake/rule breaker is using a coupon for an item other than what the coupon states. We’ve seen this done lately on the TLC Extreme Couponing series. Sure, you might get away with it, but say I use a $1 off Tide 50oz on a Tide 30oz. The retailer/store WILL NOT get reimbursed for that coupon, which results in higher store prices for us, as well as even more in depth scrutiny over using coupons at the register.

Here are more examples of fraudulent misuse of coupons:

Using a coupon for other than what is written on the coupon.

Using the coupon for another product that is not listed on the coupon.

Purchasing a different size than what is listed on the coupon.

Purchasing a different quantity than what is listed on the coupon.

Purchasing less than specified minimum dollar amount when using a coupon for $X off a purchase of $Y or more.

Using a coupon after it has expired (unless approved-few stores do so)

OK, next up and one of the next best things to know is that the P&G Brand Name, which consists of many brands we know & use, DOES NOT ever issue or authorize Internet Printable Coupons. So, if you receive a link to a coupon to print for a Proctor & Gamble Brand Product, it is fraudulent without a doubt. You can only receive their coupons via mail, product packaging, etc. NEVER INTERNET PRINTABLES. More info Here 

I cannot stress enough about where you get your printable coupon information — I know someone who found out about a “fake” ( they did not know at the time)  coupon from another deal site and was caught and fine the $2,500 .

Check out MORE Fake Coupon Alerts HERE

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I decided to help y’all know how to spot fake coupons  – because I would hate any of you got in trouble for using fake coupon accidentally.

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How to Make Sure You Are NOT USING A FAKE COUPON

I spent over 10 hours each day finding the best deals and coupons for you – I make sure that all the coupons I post are legitimate  There are a large amount of bloggers who do not put the amount of work in and you could be paying the price.

The deal is too good to be true: If there is a coupon for a free product for very high value coupon like $3.00 off a bag of chips this is a huge red FLAG.

- The expiration date: Remember the better the coupon ( High value coupons or coupons that have no size limit) have a shorter time it is good for. So if a printable coupon has more then 6 months till its expiration date – RED FLAG

The coupon is a pdf: PDFs are VERY easy to manipulate — this is another red flag. Again not all PDF coupons are fake but still be wary.

The coupon has no expiration date: Fake coupon can be spotted sometimes without having an expiration date – makes sense the person who made the fake coupon wants to use it as long as possible. THERE are companies that forget or do not put a expiration coupon – but you usually get these sort of coupons from the company themselves.

The coupon did not have a UPC code - HUGE RED FLAG – If there is no UPC it cannot be traced

- Coupon is a Brick Coupon: This one is tricky… A brick coupon is a coupon that is the only one you can print. There are many legitimate brick coupons out there – this is a yellowish flag – just use the tools I have written about in this post to help you determine it is a fake coupon or not

Here is an example for YOU – Lets see if you are able to see how this coupon below is fake 

The real coupon was changed into a fake coupon by someone who wanted free products – this is what usually happens with fake coupons.

Finally, visiting the online authority on COUPON FRAUD will give you a more in depth look at what retail stores are facing with Coupon Fraud. It is a shame and it makes it worse on all of us that are using coupons legitimately to save our families money. View THIS LIST for all the current Fraudulent Coupons that are floating around, and make sure you don’t have any of these. There are rewards on some of them if you should find one, report it.

I hope these tidbits at least make you stop and think about the responsibility of using coupons legitimately. As you can see through my weekly (sometimes daily) posts here and on Facebook,using coupons the way they were intended can and does save serious money and result in many freebies…just make sure you know what you can/cannot do.Knowledge is power! 

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