Tip of the day: Don't commit coupon fraud!!

Do you hear the words "coupon fraud" and the think 'Oh, no one ever really gets in trouble for that'?  Well, think again.  I just read this online news article last night about a local woman who is under arrest for reusing coupons. 

Here is something you may not know...Look at a printable coupon.  Coupons printed from coupons.com are a great example (other printables have safety features as well):

You'll see a note on your coupons.com printable "authenticate at www.veri-fi.com."  Head over to the website and you'll see a box where you can enter the coupon's Veri-Fi code (the number under the dot scan, shown in the circle above).  If it's a valid coupon, it will tell you.  If it's invalid, it'll tell you that, too.

How might you have an invalid coupon? If a coupon allows multiple prints, they will each have a unique Veri-Fi code (or PIN number if printed from another coupon site -- unless it is a rare .pdf coupon offered by a manufacturer or store).  If you did something illegal (like I KNOW none of my readers would!) like copy the coupon, it will have the same identifying number.  If one is redeemed, the copies will be rejected as invalid.  The article doesn't specify, but my guess is that the cashier in the article got in trouble by scanning printables like this multiple times, and the additional scans on the unique security numbers were detected by the coupon distributor.

I love a great deal and to stockpile, but it's definitely not worth it to do it in an illegal way.  Obtain and use your coupons on the up-and-up.  :-)