Coupon Fraud

I hope you are with me when I say that coupons are awesome! They are a vital part of how I stick to my weekly budget and keep costs down. Unfortunately, like many good things, there are folks out there who take advantage of a great system and it can mess things up for all of us.

Fraudulent coupons are a huge issue and they are likely why you get questions or funny looks from cashiers and managers from time to time – even if you are using coupons properly.

If you’ve been couponing for a while, you probably know that $8 Huggies coupons don’t really exist. Maybe if you had a complaint or issue with diapers and the company mailed you a coupon, but more than likely it will have holograms and all sorts of other fraud protection features on it if that were the case… it’s most certainly not printable.

How can I check out a specific coupon?

Head to the Coupon Information Center website, who maintains a running list of known fraudulent coupons. Turns out, the $8 Huggies coupon is on that list!

What are some red flags?

Here are some things that should get your fraudulent coupon radar going:

• It sounds too good to be true (very high value)
• It’s for a completely free product (Free Tide, free Olive Oil)
• It’s a PDF and not hosted directly on the manufacturer’s site
• It was forwarded to you as an email attachment from a friend

never copy a coupon.