Because coupon fraud has become such a HUGE business, many grocery stores are now refusing to take Internet Printed (IP) coupons above a certain denomination. Every day, I get at least one email containing another coupon that has been proven to be counterfeit. Many of the counterfeit coupons are pretty obvious as they have a ridiculously high value. For instance, the coupon above is for $10 off any two DiGiorno pizzas. Considering these pizzas are just about $5 each on sale, this coupon would essentially make the pizzas free. It’s not uncommon to get smaller items for free at the grocery store like sour cream when there is a sale and a coupon, but manufacturers of more expensive items like pizza, Tostitoes, pet foods, et cetera don’t release huge, high value coupons. Use your common sense – If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. You’ll also want to be cautious of coupons for brands that rarely if ever put out coupons for their products. A good example of this is Pepsi. I have honestly never seen an IP coupon for Pepsi products.
If you still aren’t sure, you can always go to the Coupon Information Corporation website and view their list of counterfeit coupons. This list is kept up to date with daily additions of counterfeits.
