Coupon Ethics — Moms Need To Know ™

Counterfeit Huggies Coupon (and more about counterfeit coupons)

By Mindi Cherry on February 28, 2012
in Coupon 101, Coupon Ethics

Every so often, there is a surge in counterfeit coupon creation, and it seems that we are deep in the middle of one.

In the last 2 hours, I have heard about the above Huggies coupon (which is making the rounds of the Internets in .pdf form) AND had one of my Facebook friends post the following on my personal FB page:

I have a quick question for you. Do you know anything about Pedigree giving away coupons for a free 40 lb bag of dog food? Can’t find anything on the ‘net and someone is at my husband’s store trying to get ten free bags. Seems fraudulent to me

So let’s go over this again:

In most cases, any coupon emailed to you in .pdf form (where you need Acrobat Reader or a similar program in order to read it) is either counterfeit or a scanned copy of a “real coupon”. Both are illegal to use in your store and if caught, can get you arrested. Don’t believe me? I can point you to plenty of news stories of people being arrested and charged (and convicted) of fraud for doing exactly that.

There are some legitimate .pdf coupons out there. They are few and far between and tend to be a nightmare. They are often created by companies that want to issue coupons, but don’t want to pay the fee to a site like Coupons.com to control the number of times the coupon can be printed. Then people print off 100 of them, they start to be redeemed WAY more than the company ever intended and then the company declares the coupon that THEY created to be fraudulent (when the reality is that the company was stupid in the way that they issued the coupon in the first place)

Coupons that are “too good to be true” generally are. In the case of my friend, her husband had a customer trying to redeem a coupon (actually 10 coupons) for an approximately $40 item. While companies do release legitimate free-item coupons (I get a ton of them), a dog food company is not going to start giving free $40 bags when they have smaller bags. She said that the coupon LOOKED legit….it was color and glossy on one side, the weight of the paper was correct, etc, but coupon counterfeiters are now able to find and use the same paper and technology to create these coupons. Once again, we need to use some common sense here and know that they just AREN’T going to give out this high-value coupon.

For more information, check out the various posts I have written about Coupon Ethics, especially my Why Stores Don’t Trust Coupon Users post.

And check out this list of all the current counterfeit coupons circulating. Your head will explode just from the sheer volume of them!

Looking for more Extreme Couponing tips? Make sure that you check out all the posts in my Coupon 101 and Coupon Ethics sections!

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Eating Groceries While Still In The Store?

By Mindi Cherry on October 30, 2011
in Coupon 101, Coupon Ethics

Make sure you check out the rest of the Coupon and Shopping Ethics posts that I have posted!

This could be a sticky question and I have a feeling that some of your answers are going to be based on where you live (urban or rural), how well you know the employees in your store, etc. But I thought it might be an interesting conversation….

Yesterday, Merissa shared a link with me about a couple arrested for forgetting to pay for sandwiches and asked what I thought about it. The “nutshell version”?

A couple and their 3-year old daughter were grocery shopping. The pregnant wife started to feel light-headed so they grabbed some sandwiches from the self-serve deli. They ate the sandwiches while shopping, placed the wrappers in their cart (saying that they made no effort to conceal them) and continued shopping.
They paid for their groceries, but for one reason or another, the wrappers didn’t make it on the the belt at checkout and they didn’t pay for them.
They were confronted outside the store by 2 men who asked them to show their receipt that they paid for the sandwiches.
The couple apologized, said it was an oversight and offered to pay for the 2 sandwiches ($5). Instead, the manager called the police, they were both arrested. Since both parents were arrested, their daughter was placed with CPS overnight.

Ok – I have a few things to say about this, and then I would love to hear your thoughts!

The fact that they ate a prepackaged item (as opposed to something like produce, where the final price is determined by weight at the cash register) doesn’t bother me AT ALL. We have done this in the past (I have been known to grab a single serve soda halfway through my shopping trip, finish it while shopping and hand the empty bottle to the cashier to scan). In most jurisdictions, it is not the eating of the item while in the store that is stealing, but leaving the store without paying for it.

That being said…..

If, as they said, they made no effort to conceal the wrappers, I am having a hard time believing that they DIDN’T see the wrappers in the cart once all of their groceries were loaded on the to cart. I’ve been shopping with a 2-year old while pregnant (as well as a 5 and 3-year old while pregnant) and at no time was I struck suddenly blind that I wouldn’t see wrappers in a cart that had been emptied of groceries. But maybe that is me.

and THAT being said….

Calling the police on the couple over $5 in sandwiches seems like overkill. And having both parents arrested over $5 in chicken salad sandwiches so that their child is taken by CPS and will now have a “CPS file” until she is 18 seems like Overkill-On-a-Freddy-Kreuger-level.

Like I said – I have done this. We have shopped at stores that sold pizza by the slice and Brad grabbed a slice, ate it while we were shopping, and handed the empty pizza box to the cashier. I have done the same with soda bottles. When the kids were younger and had more in-store meltdowns, I opened many many bags of Goldfish. Not ONCE did I forget to pay for them.

What do you think? Have you eaten prepackaged items (not items where you pay by weight) at the grocery store before paying for them? Why or Why Not?

And what do you think about the manager’s reaction to this couple?

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Coupon Counterfeiter Faces Up To 30 Years In Jail!

By Mindi Cherry on May 30, 2011
in Coupon Ethics

I have to admit that I am taking a little extra joy in this one.

You see, in March of 2010, I came across one of his high-value counterfeit coupons, posted about it and within a few hours, both this site and my family (both online and in real life) came under an attack. The people on the 4chan site put me through Hell for about 36 hours. To see the one who created those coupons finally being brought to justice (and facing up to 30 years in jail!) after what he and his friends put me through makes me SO happy!

Lucas Henderson, a 22-year-old Rochester Institute of Technology student, is facing a pair of federal felony charges–wire fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods–for allegedly posting counterfeit coupons on zoklet.net.

Henderson, pictured at right, is also accused of directing users of that message board to 4chan, where they could download a copy of “How to Make Coupons,” a 45-page tutorial on designing coupons that would “scan at most any store in the U.S.,” thus tricking retailers.

The manual opens with a page listing “The 6 Commandments of Coupon Making,” including the admonition that the tutorial not be uploaded “to any permanent hosting.” Instead, the document should be shared on “anonymous image boards” (like 4chan) where “posts expire after a period of time.” Placing the tutorial at a permanent online location “makes it much easier for companies and moral assholes to come across them and warn stores about them.”

You can read more about this issue at the Coupon Information Center as well as The Smoking Gun!

You can also read more about my personal experience with these people HERE

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Coupon Barcode Decoding: Yes or No? (and why?)

By Mindi Cherry on April 11, 2011
in Coupon 101, Coupon Ethics

Almost 2 years ago, I wrote a post about Coupon Barcode Decoding. As many of you know, I tend to get rather passionate about Coupon Ethics and everything in me tells me that decoding barcodes (in order to use a higher value coupon for 1 product on a lower-priced item not listed in the coupon description) is just WrongWrongWrong.

Just as a refresher, from my original post:

BarCode Decoding is:

Using a coupon good on (for example) ”Brand X Shampoo” on “Brand X Styler” just because the bar code matches up, unless the text of the coupon states that it may be used for a styler.

Using a coupon for a completely unrelated item, just because the manufacturers code on the barcode matches.

Taking advantage of a glitch in the value code section of the bar code to buy less of a product in order to get the same discount.

Using a coupon in any way other than the wording of the coupon

BarCode Decoding is not:

checking a bar code to ensure that it is a store coupon and not a manufacturers coupon (which means that, if it is a store coupon, it can be stacked with a manufacturers coupon at many stores)

matching up a bar code to ensure that a coupon will work on an item that is not pictured on the coupon, but that you are reasonably sure is included in the description (and example of this might be using a Johnson’s bath & body item coupon that has pictures of baby wash on it on a Johnson’s Buddies item.)

using the fact that the manufacturer ID “matches up” (as long as the wording does as well) to explain to a cashier why the coupon is valid on that item, even though it might have beeped when scanned.

Since I originally wrote that post, I pretty much considered this a non-issue. However, with the recent dust-up over J’Aime Kirlew decoding coupons on Extreme Couponing, the topic has yet again resurfaced. And because I am the Master of Procrastination and always enjoy watching an online Train Wreck, I have found myself being sucked in to the TLC Extreme Couponing Facebook Fan Page and the comments (the default view on their Facebook page won’t show you Fan Comments…click on “Most Recent’ to see comments)

And I am shocked by the number of people on Facebook and online forums that are defending Coupon Barcode Decoding…and I am wondering if I am being too much of a Goody-Two-Shoes on this issue. Not that I WOULD decode coupons to take advantage of a glitch in the system, but it seems like I am starting to be in the minority on this issue.

So what do you say? Do you feel that Barcode Decoding is acceptable? In the 2 years since I wrote that post, the economy has taken more of a downward spiral. Does the current economy make it more acceptable? What do you think?

** please note: I am inviting healthy and respectful discussion. You are free to call me the biggest prude known to man (or of course, the most awesome of awesomeness ). I have no intention of deleting any comments that disagree with me or any other readers, unless they are outright rude or employ namecalling**

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Will TLC’s Extreme Couponing Mess It Up For The Rest of Us?

By Mindi Cherry on April 8, 2011
in Coupon 101, Coupon Ethics

::UPDATE: The link to the article about Jamie’s shopping trip is glitching. Her site is getting SLAMMED with traffic as a result of her research. Keep trying – you don’t want to miss this article!

I am going to go out on a limb here and assume that most of you don’t spend all day, every day thinking about coupons, writing about coupons, talking to your fellow Deal Bloggers in social media outlets, etc. I am therefore going to assume that many of you haven’t heard about the “scandal” that has come out of the Season Premiere of “Extreme Couponing”.

If you have read my Coupon Ethics posts, you know that I often talk about a time when people were using Crest Whitestrips coupons (which are usually high-value) on other products to get them free. This is called Coupon Barcode Decoding and is considered Coupon Fraud.

When the names of the people who would be on Extreme Couponing was announced, there was a “ripple” in the Couponing Community as J’aime (AKA “the mustard lady” from the show) was known to have posted videos of herself clearly committing coupon fraud. She had since taken those videos down and many of us were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt….perhaps she made the videos when she was still a newbie, didn’t know that what she was doing was wrong, had changed her ways, etc.

And then she went on Extreme Couponing and from all appearances, she is still using coupons unethically…to the point of committing outright coupon fraud on national TV. Please take a moment to read this report that Jill Cataldo put together about Jaime’s shopping trip, as well as the comments for a BUNCH of screen shots that clearly expose the truth about her shopping trip.

So why should we care?

Because Coupon Fraud hurts all of us in the form of tighter store policies, more scrutiny and suspicion from cashiers, etc.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out and if TLC has a response to this.

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TLC Extreme Couponing: It’s FAR From a Reality Show!

By Mindi Cherry on April 7, 2011
in Coupon 101, Coupon Ethics

I have been stewing about this for a few hours (and doing a bit of ranting on Twitter), and it all comes down to one thing….

The TLC Extreme Couponing show (which premiered as a SERIES) is not reality.

Let’s look at the facts:

Tiffany from the show tonight (who is a total sweetheart and someone I have known for more than 16 months) can no longer do the deals that were shown tonight. Why? Because Kroger seems to be doing away with double and triple coupons!

Spending 5 hours at the checkout counter? Unless there was a major national film crew rolling, I can’t imagine ANY store manager that would tolerate that. Brad is a retail manager and he gets “twitchy” when a transaction takes more than 10 minutes!

Aside from My Beloved Acme, I know of very few stores that don’t limit the number of coupons that they will double, or the amount of like-coupons they will accept. Most stores will only double the first like-coupon, and then accept another 3-5 at face value. The stores shown in the Extreme Couponing show clearly lifted their policies for the film crew. (and then they wonder why their customers in the following weeks get upset that they can’t duplicate the deals that they say on TV)

Unless you have a SERIOUS “mustard fetish”, there is no reason to buy 60 mustard bottles at once. Further, she paid about $0.30 each (AFTER doubled coupon) for them and I have NEVER paid for mustard. The small bottles go on sale for about $0.80- $1 and a doubled $0.50 coupon makes them FREE. Y0u can count on these coupons and sales all summer long. With planning, you can build up a reasonable stockpile without being a shelf-clearer.

Most sales are on a 12-week cycle, as are coupons. Sure, there are the few odd high-value coupons (like when a product is first released), but I assure you…Chex Mix WILL be on sale for $1 per bag and there WILL be $0.50/2 coupons available. Unless you are hopelessly addicted to Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix (and really – who isn’t?), you DON’T need to buy 30 bags one week.

What do I advocate? SANE Couponing and Using Coupons Ethically!

There is still no reason to pay for your basic toiletries when you work the Drug Store Deals or even the Grocery Deals

You don’t NEED to buy 60 bottles of mustard. Most sales and coupons are on a 12 week cycle. I advocate having no more than a 6 month supply at any given time.

Couponing should be a way of life. It should never become your life.

I will likely continue to watch Extreme Couponing…it is almost like watching a train wreck! But I will NEVER advocate the shopping that you see in that show!

What are your thoughts on the show?

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Extreme Couponing on TLC

By Mindi Cherry on December 30, 2010
in Coupon 101, Coupon Ethics

If you missed it last night, Extreme Couponing will again air on TLC on Tuesday January 4, 2011 at 10:00pm (EST) and 1:00am EST on Wednesday January 5, 2011.

Did you happen to watch Extreme Couponing on TLC last night? I did and I have mixed thoughts on it.

On one hand, I am concerned that showing the “extreme” side of using coupons at the stores might create a backlash against those who use coupons in moderation. I am also worried that they made it look like you HAVE to spend that much time (one woman said that she spent 70 hours per week clipping and planning her shopping trips??) in order to save big. That can be discouraging to those looking to get started saving money.

On the other hand, I like that they showed that Nathan donated so much to charity. I have always loved the fact that using coupons allows me to increase my charitable donations.

We had a lively discussion last night on the Moms Need To Know Facebook page about the episode, but I would love to hear your thoughts on “Extreme Couponing”. (both the show and in general)

(Oh – and if you need a refresher, don’t forget to check out my Coupon 101 posts as well as my Coupon Ethics posts)

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Doritos Coupon: Please don’t try it!

By Mindi Cherry on April 26, 2010
in Coupon Ethics, Coupons

I have received about 10 emails notifying me of this coupon and…oh For The Love of All That is Good And Holy…please NO

It would be vanity to assume that I am the only “deal blogger” that you read, so in case you have seen this on another website or coupon forum….

Please do NOT try to use the current Doritos coupon (pictured above) that is circulating around the Internets. It is a fraudulent coupon.

For more information on current fraudulent coupons making the rounds of The Internets, click here

And to find out why fraudulent coupons make me want to stab someone (seriously – I get so angry that I visibly shake!), check out my Coupon Ethics posts.

Photo credit: Fabulessly Frugal

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Why I Love Acme: Coupon Fraud Edition

By Mindi Cherry on March 30, 2010
in Acme, Coupon Ethics

Most of you know my deep love of Acme. Between the wonderful coupon policy, the fantabulous sales and the fact that my local store is filled with the nicest employees, I rarely shop anywhere else!

Diane found me on Facebook a few minutes ago and sent me this link to a story in the Pottstown Mercury today.

Not only am I thrilled that a coupon counterfeiter was brought to justice, but I am ecstatic that it was the employees at my local Acme that helped to do it!

I can not WAIT to go in to my Acme to get my early edition of the next circular (they always have it waiting for me) and give the employees a big THANKS!

Way to go Acme….my love for you just increased…and I didn’t think that was possible!

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Think Coupon Fraud Is No Big Deal? Think Again!

By Mindi Cherry on March 25, 2010
in Coupon Ethics

UPDATE: So I’ve Deleted your precious picture. Get on with your life and stop harassing people! Don’t know what I am talking about? check out this post

So a funny thing happened yesterday

A good friend of mine sent me an email that had been sent to him by a friend of a friend. This email was a .jpg that had very detailed instructions on how to create an Internet Printable Coupons. And this person had used the technology to create a coupon that got him a FREE Ps3 (although the scumbag had to pay tax..oh – I just feel SO sorry for him!). I have no intention of posting that .jpg here, because after looking at it, I realized how well it would work…and yeah – no…I’m not perpetuating fraud!

But all of a sudden, I got a newfound respect for grocery stores that stopped accepting Internet Printables with the word “free” on them.

You see – I have always been annoyed with local grocery stores that won’t accept a coupon with the word “Free” on them. I could understand why they wouldn’t take an IP for FREE item, but one that required the purchase of another item? That just seemed over-cautious to me. Perhaps I was naive as to the extent of coupon fraud..and the truth is, when we are taking about a BOGO Skinny Water coupon, it bothers me that we receive such scrutiny at the checkout for our valid coupons. We are doing nothing wrong. Why should we be treated like we are trying to get something over on our local grocery store?

The answer? Because so many people are!

The guy who sent this email to my friend’s friend walked out with a $300 item for which the store will never get reimbursed. That’s a crime – pure and simple.

And it’s easy to say that the store should have been more vigilant. They should have questioned this coupon. The “backstory” on this coupon is that the person told the cashier that they had completed a bunch of “free offers” on The Internets and been rewarded with one of these coupons. We have all seen those free offers on The Internets (“Hey! Want a Free MacBook? Just click here!”), so it might be easy to understand why the cashier thought it was a valid coupon. Yeah – the cashiers should have questioned it, but the coupon scanned correctly

But regardless of cashier error, there is no excusing the fact that somewhere, someone thought this was hunky-dorey to do. It’s not.

So the next time you get annoyed at your cashier or store manager for over-scrutinizing your Internet Printable coupons, please remember that there ARE serious scumbags out there with no moral compass. As always, the best advice that I can give you is to never “fly under the radar”. Make friends with the cashiers and managers at your store so that they know that you are one of the “good ones”.

And as for those that create fake Internet Printable coupons? I believe that means that there is either a special circle in Hell reserved for you…or you will come back as a cashier who had to deal with lowlifes such as you!

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