Have you ever wondered whether or not a coupon you received is real or had one turned away at the grocery store for being fraudulent? Lots of times companies will send out Free Product coupons via mail and you can even request certain “bricks” coupons to be mailed to you. Sometimes it can be hard for stores to tell if coupons are truly valid or not.
Here are some tips to help you tell whether a coupon is fraudulent or real.
Coupon is Real
- Some mailed Coupons have a “Scratchable Coupon Backer”. On the back of the coupon there will be a watermark line saying “This is a Veri-fi Protected Coupon” and if you scratch on that it will reveal the Coupons Inc. Logo.
- Each coupon will have a unique Veri-fi Code Dot beneath the expiration date. You can enter that code at the Coupons Inc. Coupon Resource Center to verify the validity of the coupon.
- If you were to copy or scan the coupon, which is illegal, you will see the word VOID in the background.
- Coupons, printable and those received in the mail will have little yellow dots inside the expiration date box. You will only see them on printable coupons that are printed in color but black and white coupons are still valid.
Keep these tips in mind when you are shopping and if a coupon is turned away that you know is valid, ask to speak with a manger and point out the features that prove the coupon is real. 🙂
Please note, that these specific features are found on coupons issued by Coupons Inc. and that other coupon sources will have their own unique features as well.
Coupon is Fraudulent
- Coupons that have been photocopied or scanned are illegal and they can be tracked back to the computer that they were originally printed from.
- If you received a forwarded email or see a coupon on a message board and it looks suspicious then it just might be. Lots of times a coupon is sent to an email subscriber and is only intended for them and it gets passed along to everyone.