Yesterday in AZ, a MAJOR coupon fraud ring was busted. They had over 25 million in fraudulent coupons that they were selling.
From the article:
“The Coupon Information Corporation is calling this the largest counterfeit coupon case the industry has ever seen.
These investigators discovered most of the fake coupons were being used in Arizona. Investigators also found that the coupons were being sold through the website, Savvyshoppersite.com.
“They are variations, reproductions of what were at one point legitimate coupons,” said Bud Miller with the Coupon Information Corporation.
So the coupons often worked and as a result manufacturers lost millions.
Police say the scope of the investigation and the economic impact are massive with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
“We’re talking about anywhere from $400 to $600 million in loss,” said Holmes. “This is to American companies who produced American products and hire American citizens.”
Miller said consumers should never pay money for coupons.
“If you’re a consumer out there and you purchased coupons from this website you certainly should not use them. You are subject to arrest,” said Miller.”
Never, Never, Never pay for coupons that you did not buy yourself from the Sunday paper. Even from insert companies who sell the whole inserts, you can NOT be certain where the inserts are coming from. There is ALWAYS the possibility that they were stolen from the newspapers that YOU were supposed to be getting.
I have seen SO MANY emails from readers who have ordered coupons from Ebay, only to get obvious copies of internet printed coupons and coupons to good to be true in value for brands.
Coupons are a form of cash. You will be prosecuted for using fraudulent coupons. If you need more information you can go to the Coupon Information Center.
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which makes things bad for those of us who are doing things right…..
yes, thank you for commenting!
YES FINALLY THEY CAUGHT THESE COWARDS THAT MAKE IT BAD FOR ALL OF US. WAY BACK IN 1900 THEY BUSTED 25 PEPOLE FOR FRAUD BUYING AN SELLING REBATES AN USING OTHER NAMES TO MAKE MONEY . MAYBE YOU REMEMBER THIS . IT WAS IN NEW YORK . I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THAT ARTICLE. IT WAS ALSO MICH. THE MAILMAN TURNED HER IN. SO LETS CLEAN THIS UP ONCE AN FOR ALL ..WE MAY NOT GET TO DO THIS MUCH LONGER . THEY STOPED THE REBATES. NOW THEY ARE DOING IT TO COUPONS. IF YOU DON’T USE THEM BY THE END OF THE MONTHAN BUY 30R 4 NOW. IT STINKS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE THIS THAT HAVE TO CHEAT NO MATTER WHAT.
So is it wrong to buy coupons from eBay? Most coupons say in the fine print that they are not to be sold so I quit buying them online. My conscious was starting to bother me about it. 🙁
I recently received a FREE coupon from Kraft for free OM weiners or bacon.I was so surprised and excited!Now I’m nervous what will happen when I use it.I hope this doesn’t affect the Free coupons companys send.
Coupons straight from the manufacturer are ok. The cashier is probably going to scrutinize the coupon. In fact it looks as though these were the types of coupons they were counterfeiting.
As I said on jillcataldo, these fraudulent coupons are the reason we are seeing increased prices, lower coupon values, stricter policies and not to mention the scrutiny my LEGITIMATE coupons get. I am glad there are finally consequences for those that have not been playing by the rules and ruining it for everyone else.
If you get a coupon from a manufacturer for a free item there is almost always a watermark or a identifying mark. I am a cashier and was taught how to identify legit or illegal coupons.
I am glad this was discovered and these theives will be punished. It is sad that we legitimate couponers who are just trying to save money for our family will ultimately have to suffer the consequences for the guilty ones’ actions.
I do have a question – I live in AR, in a rural area. We only get the smart source, no redplum. So I buy my whole, uncut inserts online from a coupon website. When I started buying them online a few months ago, I just looked at it like I was saving paper, by not buying 6 news papers a week and throwing them away. Now, after reading the article on CIC website, I am just uncomfortable with continuing to purchase the inserts online. I want to do the right thing!
I know, it really stinks and especially for people like yourself who don’t get all the coupons.
how can you tell if the coupons you buy from a site are legit? i quit clipping due to time problems and have been using a clipping service. i looked at the coupons to see if the numbers were different, they weren’t but i looked at coupons that i actually bought and clipped and they also weren’t different. i don’t want to use the coupons if they are not real, but don’t know what to do. i don’t have time to clip them anymore. any advice????
The problem with the Sunday coupon insert coupons that you buy from clipping services is not that they might be counterfeit, but they were obtained illegally. Most of them are.
That’s too bad
My stores don’t even want to take internet coupons.
Holy crap….did you go on the website??? One look and any person with a lick of common sense would see the coupons are fake! Wow….I am shocked! So glad they are going downnnnnnnn….
Thinking the same -i use that old saying-if it looks to good too be true…..
I also don’t get all the coupon inserts where I live being in a rural area
From what I understand, you can go to Redplum’s website and they will mail you their coupon insert if they are not distributed in your area. They used to do this, and as of up to at least a year ago, they were still doing it. I would try sand check it out if you are in an area where you do not receive them.
yes, it’s getting harder to use coupons, my wags has started denying any printed coupon that does not scan.. they will actually call the manager and they look at it now. i haven’t had any trouble myself but have been behind others who didn’t get to use their coupons because they wouldn’t go thru and the managers have stopped “pushing” them thru for folks.
omgosh, lol, i just went to that site. the colors they use must hypnotize you or something, it hurt just to read it. can’t believe they still have the site up.
I am shocked at that too!! The coupons listed to buy are obviously much higher than what is typically released. Also the fact that they only allow people with referalls to purchase from them should be a sign that something is just not right… I really do not understand why this site has not been taken down! Tiff is there someone we can write to to petition for it to be removed or something?
Have not thought about that! You can write the hosting company. Look up the domain at whois.com
I understand all I need to know about fake coupons but really !!!!! If you buy a coupon for a free bag of Iams up to a $70.00 value are you really hoping to get away with it. Thanks to television and bloggers etc, most of us are aware of these fradulant coupons. Walmart nor your average grocery store carries a $70.00 Iams product. You can bet your life that if I show up at my local petsmart with one of these coupons, it is going to be scrutinized. You can also bet they know what one of these coupons looks like. My goal is to save money, but even simple minded me knows that this is about impossible to get away with. A fine and jailtime defeats my main goal. Extereme couponers had a big hand in this. How many rolls of bath tissue have been shown being purchased with the fake coupons. Ebay is no secret either. I imagine that the average clipper user is a simple couponer buying a 25 cent coupon. When Ebay stops listing clippers I will move on but until then I have children to feed. I imagine if inserts are being stolen it is at many levels. Printers of inserts would be a likely beginning of theft. I believe that using a clipper falls into the same gray area of buying 20 items and shelf clearing. Meanwhile. I am comfortable with no guilt and my children have food in their tiny little tummies. I am the smallest element in the chain of couponers. Go after Ebay, clippers, forgers and tv shows.
I agree about 90%!! Ebay needs to STOP allowing coupons to be sold. Period. They know it is wrong, they tried to stop a while ago and were not successful. I never want to get to the point where I start judging what people buy, they can buy however many they want of whatever they want, it isn’t stealing. Using coupons that you don’t know where they came from (other then you bought them) and they are more then likely stolen or obtained unethically is another matter.
People know right from wrong. They know when they are getting coupons that are fraudulent and using them. The problem is that it is selfish and hurts you and I. I am so glad that they are cracking down, I just wish it hasn’t taken so long!! I agree… Go after Ebay, clippers, forgers and tv shows!
Love their “Wall of shame” at the bottom. LOL I guess we could put their name and address in there now.
Tiffany, have you considered hosting a coupon swap once or twice a month? We could meet at Chik-Fil-A. I buy 3-5 papers each Sunday and I pick up the trashed and/or recycled Villager on my walks, when I know there are coupons, like the last P&G insert. Anyway, some times I have a ton of coupons that I don’t want the ones I don’t use to go to waste.
I used to put the extras at the customer service desk of my grocery store but I usually see them there after weeks.
Yes! We are going to do one FRiday night before the coupon class at 6:00! July 20th in The Woodlands
Call me dumb or maybe I am just that novice of a couponer…but why would anyone buy coupons in general? Isn’t that spending money that you are trying to save? There are so many coupon sites that are free? Maybe it is not economical for me because I do not buy processed foods and I do not stock pile because we don’t eat a lot of pantry items because it just isn’t very healthy (that is just me so not at all knocking those that do eat processed foods at all – to each their own) so most of the coupons out there are for those type of items. I do wish there were more coupons available for natural, organic, produce, stuff instead of the majority being pantry/ processed stuff. That would help so many people who cost is more of a priority than nutrition to be able to eat healthier. For me, nutrition is more of a priority than cost so I don’t save as much as most. Bummer for me!
I just checked (about 10:00am EST Sunday 07/15/12) and this site is still up! Unbelievable! If these people got arrested for doing something illegal through this website then the website should have been shut down immediately. Why hasn’t this been shut down yet? ABC news from New York just ran a story about this scam this morning and they said these people made millions off this scam. Coke even had to stop it’s own coupon last year due to fraud from this site. Again, why is this site still up?