Multi-Million Dollar Counterfeit Coupon Ring Shut Down in Phoenix Area
Have you ever tried to use a real coupon only to be given a hard time for it? Maybe it was just a funny look, or maybe they downright treated you like a criminal (I’ve had both experiences!!) Whatever the case, read on to see why stores are cracking down on coupons. And, find out how we all lose with fraudulent coupons.
You may have heard about people creating fake printable coupons that you can print at home. These coupons are not legit, they’re the work of some hacker who Photoshopped (altered) the coupon to appear to be for a free product. Millions of unsuspecting shoppers have passed fake coupons without even knowing it, so please always be vigilant and when in doubt ASK us. We’re the home of Gimmie’s Big List of Fakes, and we feature fake coupons too. Another great site to check is the CIC – Coupon Information Corporation.
Well, there’s also another fraudulent method of couponing – counterfeiting. Counterfeit coupons are created to look just like real coupons. Whether it’s a printed coupon or pre-printed (such as a Sunday Paper coupon, or those FREE coupons you receive in the mail by participating in special promotions, like what we share here on GimmieFreebies every day). FREE coupons are usually issued in limited quantities to a select few. Because of the value of the FREE coupons, counterfeiters mass reproduce these coupons and sell them online. One such counterfeit coupon ring was just shut down in Northeast Phoenix. This was a multi-million dollar operation!! Imagine how many fraudulent coupons were created by these people, sold to unsuspecting buyers (like you and me!) and then passed on to retail stores who lose MILLIONS of dollars in revenue because they can’t redeem the coupons. Or, if the companies did honor them, then it was the companies that lost out. Either way, this kind of behavior is what’s threatening to make coupons a thing of the past!!
The website that was selling these coupons is SavvyShopperSite.com. Reportedly they were also selling coupons on ebay. The coupons were impressive duplications of real coupons. Their terms of use required that you be referred to their site, and you couldn’t TELL anyone about them unless you knew that person. They even had a “wall of shame” which called out people for allegedly acting unethically. They say they’ll only work with trusted and honest people. I won’t even comment on the irony of this, but I urge you to note all the red flags of this super-secret coupon ring that may have alerted the fact that they were counterfeiting.
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Feel free to poke around their website as an educational tool, and what to avoid when shopping online for coupons.
Special thanks to My Coupon Lady for this find!!
Police Raid Three Homes in Northeast Phoenix Area to Bust Coupon Counterfeiting Ring
Authorities in Phoenix took three people into custody, raided three homes and seized valuable property on Tuesday as part of what police are calling a “first of its kind” case in the United States.
NOTE: GimmieFreebies did not promote buying coupons from this source, nor did we buy them ourselves. Always use vigilance when buying anything online. The subject of “buying coupons” being a legal or ethical transaction is not being discussed here. However, we typically do not promote such activities.