Fraudulent Coupons

I received this comment from a reader:

FYI-there is a fraudulent coupon out there for free Doritos. I guess it's printing out with the other coupons you actually choose (not sure which site though.) My grandma printed some and gave them to me but Meijer said they're fake.

Please be aware that there is a "coupon" out there for free Doritos circulating around...I received one myself via email a week or so ago. I've not heard of it happening in the way mentioned above. So maybe it's circulating around in a couple of different ways?? The one I received was in a pdf file and had several of the "coupons" on one page.

If you question a coupon's validity, you can try checking this site. They have a list of fraudulent coupons that is continuously updated.

I usually question a coupon...
WHEN it is sent to me via email
WHEN a coupon is in pdf format
WHEN it seems too good to be true
WHEN I have no idea where it originated from
WHEN it cannot be linked to a legitimate source

If you receive a coupon that you believe to be fraudulent, throw it away immediately. Please do not use these coupons or forward them on to others.

If you unknowingly try to use one of these coupons (or maybe already have), please know that you're not doing anything wrong...it only becomes wrong when you KNOW that it is invalid and are trying to get away with something.

On a side note, I've noticed that the stores are starting to really look at internet printable coupons more closely and question them more than they did before. When this happens, please be kind to your cashier. They are only doing their job...and I'm sure they'd like to keep it!

For a related post about honesty in couponing, read here.