The Coupon Information Center (CIC) provides information about how you can safely use coupons. There are fake coupons out there, and people have gotten in trouble for using them.

Coupons are a great promotional tool and provide consumers with direct, honest and substantial savings, CIC wrote. Over a billion dollars are saved with coupons every year! These savings benefit retailers, manufacturers, and an entire industry employing thousands of people across the globe. Ideally, it is a win-win situation and all participants benefit accordingly.

Unfortunately, as with anything of real value, coupons are subject to misuse and fraud, just like credit/debit cards, checks, currency, and virtually every type of legitimate economic activity.

The CIC encourages smart shoppers to take advantage of every available, legitimate tool to maximize their savings. Its a win-win situation for everyone when a consumer can purchase a product on sale, use a coupon and obtain even more savings by participating in a rebate/refund program.

It is important, however, that consumers understand and follow the rules when enjoying the great savings available with coupons. There are clear rules for using coupons. Our guidelines will clarify the gray areas where false information on the internet has caused confusion.

Here are some strictly prohibited activities involving coupons:

Photocopies: Do not photocopy coupons. This is counterfeiting and is a criminal offense.

Coupon Decoding: Each coupon is a contract and should be used only for the item described in writing on the coupon itself. Using a coupon for any product other than the one intended is a type of fraud similar to shoplifting.

Buying Coupons: When a person buys coupons, they may be inadvertently purchasing stolen property or counterfeit coupons. Even if there is not a direct criminal penalty involved, both coupon buyers and sellers open the door to potential litigation when they buy or sell coupons because they are in violation of the “nontransferability” clause printed on all coupons distributed within the United States. The transfer makes a coupon void. Coupon sellers ofter include legal disclaimers stating that they are selling their time, a service, or even envelopes that just happen to contain coupons instead of the coupons themselves. Such statements are invalid and do not offer any legal protection. Rather, such statements suggest that the sellers know that their coupon sales are inappropriate and wrong.

Stealing Newspapers: This is theft, whether it is for personal use, resale, to supply an organized criminal enterprise, or any other reason, and can result in felony charges. In addition to criminal penalties, the theft of newspapers often causes harm to hard working, small entrepreneurs who operate on very thin profit margins – usually a few pennies per newspaper. The theft of even a small number of papers may have a strong impact on the financial picture as consumers, no longer confident that they will receive the contents of their newspapers, will cancel their subscriptions or avoid certain newspaper boxes.

Buying “extra” coupons from your newspaper carrier or some other newspaper employee is probably a violation of the carrier’s employment agreement and/or contractual agreements with his/her supplier and can result in termination.

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