Thanks to Budget Savvy Diva for writing this awesome post!
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
- Know where you are getting the information: Budget Savvy Diva is a great resource -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.
Hope this helps you be able to target fake coupons - please let me know if you find one at contact@budgetsavvydiva.com
Thanks! WalletPop and ABC News
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