CIC/Coupon Fraud - Article todays Newsday (NY Paper) - YDF - Your Daily Freebies Forum - Coupon Codes

TSUalum93 · 12-30-2003, 01:07 PM

Articles were in today's Newsday . . .

Getting Clipped By Net Coupons
Grocers combat a wave of fakes

By Richard J. Dalton Jr
STAFF WRITER

December 30, 2003

Counterfeiting has become as easy as clicking and scanning, but the latest object of fraud isn't money - it's online supermarket coupons.

Now, faced with a flood of fakes and the possible loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, some supermarkets are restricting the use of computer- printed coupons.

As consumer product makers have embraced the ease of the Internet for distributing coupons, counterfeiters have found a variety of ways to exploit the system, according to experts.

The counterfeiters copy legitimate coupons from the Internet and then change expiration dates, product names or the amount of the discount. Sometimes they take coupons printed in circulars and manipulate them on PCs. Then they distribute the fake coupons via e-mail, Internet discussion groups and online auction sites. Some sell them. Others trade them.

"Technology has developed to the point where it's very difficult to tell a legitimate coupon from a fraudulent one," said Mike Diegel, spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America Inc., a trade group based in Washington, D.C., representing manufacturers of food, beverage and consumer products.

King Kullen supermarkets recently banned coupons printed from computers, except those from ValuPage, an online coupon site the grocer links to on its home page.

"Fraudulent Internet coupons impact all retailers," King Kullen vice president Thomas K. Cullen said in a statement sent to Newsday. "It is a national issue that must be addressed on a federal level."

Pathmark found most of the counterfeits were free-product coupons printed on computers, so it banned those in August, said Rich Savner, spokesman for the chain, based in Carteret, N.J.

Stop & Shop accepts computer-printed coupons but is monitoring the situation.

Yahoo has banned the sale of coupons. EBay says they can legitimately be auctioned but the site will remove fraudulent coupons upon the request of manufacturers.

The online coupon fraud escalated earlier this year, said Bud Miller, executive director of the Coupon Information Corp., an organization of manufacturers that offer cents-off coupons.

This summer, Miller bought 60 fake coupons online for $20 as part of his job as an industry watchdog. The seller e-mailed him computer images of coupons Miller could then print out from his computer. Some people buy these files and then sell them to others, he said.

One file contained four identical copies of the same coupon for a free package of any Ball Park product, so the buyer could save paper by printing four coupons on one sheet.

Another coupon, for a free Entenmann's product up to $4.39, expired on June 30, 2006, a date so far out that it's an obvious fraud, Miller said.

Industry trade groups say it's difficult to gauge just how much money is lost to counterfeit coupons. But in a letter that two industry trade groups sent to eBay in August requesting it ban all coupons from online auctions, the groups cited estimates between $500 million and $800 million annually.

Depending on the contract between the retailer and manufacturer, the store might eat the cost of the counterfeits, the manufacturer could take the hit or they could share the cost, Diegel said.

Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-b...,5550780.story

MsSaveALot · 12-30-2003, 04:10 PM

thanks for posting this maddy. i guess we'll have to deal with a wait-and-see attitude about this. Though I believe like before they'll find another method to distribute coupons.

12-30-2003, 01:07 PM	#1
TSUalum93 Moderator Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: In my own little world/Brooklyn, NY Posts: 3,615	CIC/Coupon Fraud - Article todays Newsday (NY Paper) Articles were in today's Newsday . . . Getting Clipped By Net Coupons Grocers combat a wave of fakes By Richard J. Dalton Jr STAFF WRITER December 30, 2003 Counterfeiting has become as easy as clicking and scanning, but the latest object of fraud isn't money - it's online supermarket coupons. Now, faced with a flood of fakes and the possible loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, some supermarkets are restricting the use of computer- printed coupons. As consumer product makers have embraced the ease of the Internet for distributing coupons, counterfeiters have found a variety of ways to exploit the system, according to experts. The counterfeiters copy legitimate coupons from the Internet and then change expiration dates, product names or the amount of the discount. Sometimes they take coupons printed in circulars and manipulate them on PCs. Then they distribute the fake coupons via e-mail, Internet discussion groups and online auction sites. Some sell them. Others trade them. "Technology has developed to the point where it's very difficult to tell a legitimate coupon from a fraudulent one," said Mike Diegel, spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America Inc., a trade group based in Washington, D.C., representing manufacturers of food, beverage and consumer products. King Kullen supermarkets recently banned coupons printed from computers, except those from ValuPage, an online coupon site the grocer links to on its home page. "Fraudulent Internet coupons impact all retailers," King Kullen vice president Thomas K. Cullen said in a statement sent to Newsday. "It is a national issue that must be addressed on a federal level." Pathmark found most of the counterfeits were free-product coupons printed on computers, so it banned those in August, said Rich Savner, spokesman for the chain, based in Carteret, N.J. Stop & Shop accepts computer-printed coupons but is monitoring the situation. Yahoo has banned the sale of coupons. EBay says they can legitimately be auctioned but the site will remove fraudulent coupons upon the request of manufacturers. The online coupon fraud escalated earlier this year, said Bud Miller, executive director of the Coupon Information Corp., an organization of manufacturers that offer cents-off coupons. This summer, Miller bought 60 fake coupons online for $20 as part of his job as an industry watchdog. The seller e-mailed him computer images of coupons Miller could then print out from his computer. Some people buy these files and then sell them to others, he said. One file contained four identical copies of the same coupon for a free package of any Ball Park product, so the buyer could save paper by printing four coupons on one sheet. Another coupon, for a free Entenmann's product up to $4.39, expired on June 30, 2006, a date so far out that it's an obvious fraud, Miller said. Industry trade groups say it's difficult to gauge just how much money is lost to counterfeit coupons. But in a letter that two industry trade groups sent to eBay in August requesting it ban all coupons from online auctions, the groups cited estimates between $500 million and $800 million annually. Depending on the contract between the retailer and manufacturer, the store might eat the cost of the counterfeits, the manufacturer could take the hit or they could share the cost, Diegel said. Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-b...,5550780.story

12-30-2003, 04:10 PM	#2
MsSaveALot Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: No matter what people may say, Imma Praise JESUS ANYWAY Posts: 208	thanks for posting this maddy. i guess we'll have to deal with a wait-and-see attitude about this. Though I believe like before they'll find another method to distribute coupons.