Promotion abuse or coupon fraud occurs when a person (customer, supplier, or partner agency) takes advantage of a promotion and abuses the Coupon Policy. Scammers can benefit from redeeming a voucher multiple times or simply using them to earn money and other valuable items or services. Based on real business experiences, “creative people have devised several ways to misuse and abuse promotional coupons. For coupon codes distributed online with the intention of attracting new customers only, abusers have learned several solutions.
There are even numerous websites, blogs and videos dedicated to teaching users how to use the system. Take a look at the common forms of coupon fraud that we discovered while working at Vouchery. In addition, CIC CEO Bud Miller said: “Consumers can easily protect themselves simply by never paying money for coupons. Coupons offered for sale are often counterfeit or stolen.
Coupon buyers should be aware that they are providing their personal information to individuals or organizations that are likely to be criminal enterprises and that may open up to other criminal schemes. If you work in a retail environment that accepts coupons, you should know how to use them correctly to minimize the risk of being discovered for coupon fraud. A “coupon enthusiast” became suspicious and contacted Coupon Information Corporation (CIC), a non-profit association of consumer product manufacturers dedicated to fighting coupon fraud and erroneous redemption. One of the most prominent organizations for coupon fraud detection is Coupon Information Corporation.
During this I discovered people who had garages full of products that had been purchased with coupons that scanned unrelated items. Most types of coupons offer a discounted price on a product or offer additional portions of the product for free. When a retailer redeems a coupon, the manufacturer of the product or another issuer of the coupon sends you a refund to cover the lost revenue. Taking coupon skills to the extreme and going as far as ending up in coupon fraud territory costs manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
But keep in mind that some stores (like mine) have a minimum of similar coupons that can be used (for us it's 4 per transaction). This way, they won't lose revenue if a coupon issuer refuses to offer a refund for a coupon that was used fraudulently. You might see them referring to “decoding coupon barcodes or exploiting” flaws that allow you to use high-value coupons on lower-priced products that they're not intended for. Retailers can also be guilty of coupon fraud by redeeming coupons for products they didn't actually sell.
Coupons contain text in the small print at the bottom (see image above) that says “cannot be used on items for resale. Fraudulent coupons that are too good to be true circulate on the web all the time and many innocent consumers, retailers and manufacturers get stuck with lost time and money. With the 13,000 designs discovered on his computer, he was able to create a coupon for virtually any product with any redemption value.
