Today on the News on 6, I spoke about recognizing fraudlent coupons. I wanted to bring back a post I wrote a couple months ago about this very issue. Keep in mind, chances are most of the coupons you will find are real, but just in case, here’s a great guide to help you recognize fakes.

When trying to determine if a coupon is real or fake, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is the offer too good to be true? Most companies will not offer totally free products. If they do, you will find such offers on the manufacturer website and/or you will receive them via snail mail in the form of a ‘real’ coupon. When you see internet printable coupons for totally free products, make sure to ask yourself all the questions in this post to be sure it is legit. Still in doubt? Post the question on our Money Saving Queen forums.

2. Does the coupon have an expiration date? Almost all coupons have an expiration date especially if they are internet coupons. If you find an internet printable coupon without an expiration date, it is more than likely fraudulent especially if that coupon offers a ‘free’ product.

 3. Is the coupon for an unreasonable amount? For example, is the coupon $10 off the purchase of one bottled water? If the value of the coupon is strangely large then it is fraudulent.

 

This Target coupon, for example, was originally $5 of a $25 toy purchase however, the wording was altered to make this coupon $5 off any $25 purchase. That move cost Target money and then forced the chain to invalidate the original toy coupon too. Would you have recognized that as a fraudulent coupon?

4. What type of coupon is it? Is the coupon a .pdf file? Coupons that come in the form of a .pdf file or even a .jpeg picture can be altered and therefore could be fraudulent. There are exceptions to this rule, one being if you found the coupon on the manufacturers website.
 
The coupons that come in the form of .pdf files that are fraudulent typically have the other elements I’ve described in this post such as no expiration date and/or they are for totally free products.

 5. How did you receive the coupon? Was the coupon e-mailed to you or did you print it directly from a coupon site? Most e-mailed coupons tend to be fraudulent unless they are e-mails directing you to print the coupon off from a legitimate site or the manufacturer’s site.

 I do my best to make sure a coupon is completely legit. I will say that even I have been fooled a few times. Check all coupons by asking yourself the above questions. Stores have lost millions to coupon fraud which is why many stores do have problems taking internet coupons from time to time.
Remember, coupon fraud is a crime and it hurts those of us who actually use coupons legitimately.

 When you print coupons online, make sure you are using reputable companies such as coupons.com and smartsource.com and/or make sure you are printing directly from a manufacturers website. My printable coupons tab, is a great resource for online coupons and it is legit.