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Beware of Too-Good-To-Be-True Black Friday Coupons

November 15, 2018

Browsing through posts on social media websites, you may come across what appears to be too-good-to-be true coupons, and in some cases, they are!  Recently, the Attorney General has learned of coupons to Kohl’s and Kroger to celebrate Black Friday. These coupons are for high amounts, generally $150 - $200 and are offered so long as you “like” and “share” the post with others.

These two coupons have a very similar trait: they are both examples of Black Friday coupon scams. Yes, those coupons are completely fake. Useful tips when looking through Black Friday coupons, especially those found online:
 

  • Is the offer too good to be true? The more outrageous coupons are likely to be phony, especially if the post is not within the official social media channels for the company. Scammers can easily steal a company’s logo to make something look real. One tip - look for grammatical mistakes or unusual phrasing.
  • Confirm offers by contacting the business through its legitimate website or by calling or visiting one of the company’s physical stores. Find the business’ contact information outside of the supposed advertisement since those ads could contain phony links or phone numbers to fake call centers.
  • Be careful of clicking on unknown links, downloading suspicious attachments, or clicking inside of unexpected pop-up windows since those actions could result in malicious software being installed on your device.
  • Third-party websites may help alert you to legitimate offers from your favorite businesses – just be sure to confirm those offers with the actual company before you waste time and energy trying to use a phony coupon.