Counterfeit Coupon Artist BUSTED

Wow, we are know counterfeit coupons are out there.  In fact, most stores have pictures of current counterfeit coupons by the registers so cashiers can be on the lookout for them.  But this story is crazy!  Check out the segments I pulled from the news article.

During the bust, police uncovered more than $25 million worth of bogus coupons and confiscated 22 assault weapons, along with a 40-foot boat, local law enforcement told CBS 5.

As many as 40 major manufacturers were burned in the fraud, with police estimating hundreds of millions of dollars in lost profit. When several of the affected companies teamed up with Procter & Gamble to investigate the source of the counterfeit coupons, the trail led them to Phoenix, according to AZ Central. They tipped off local police, who launched the two-month investigation that culminated in Tuesday’s bust. 

The key to avoiding counterfeit coupons is simple, according to CIC: Don’t buy them. 

-Beware of invalid disclaimers, such as “You are not paying for the coupons, but for the time and effort it took to clip them.”
-Be wary of any coupon emailed to you by anyone but the manufacturer or its authorized distributor
-If a coupon is visible on a computer screen, it is probably counterfeit
-Free product coupons are seldom, if ever, distributed on the Internet

That’s a lot of fake coupons!  Shame on them!