3 arrests made in fraudulent coupon ring

source: Help Make My Film

Finally!  The arrests that so many of us in couponing have been looking and hoping for.   How many of us have suspected this coupon fraud being done while we watched this being bragged about on a certain couponing show and are in awe of how these people get away with this in public!

Now the Phoenix police say they have seized more than $25 million worth of fake coupons and $2 million in other assets from the homes of three women linked to a widespread counterfeiting and forgery operation.

Officer James Holmes said officers served several warrants Tuesday morning at the Phoenix-area residences, and 40-year-old Robin Ramirez, 42-year-old Amiko Fountain and 54-year-old Marilyn Johnson were arrested after an eight-week investigation.

"We used undercover and covert operations to make purchases and to identify the three suspects," Holmes said.

Read the rest of the article HERE. Video found HERE.

The next photo is going to show a REAL coupon (on the top of the image) vs. a FAKE coupon (on the bottom of the image).

A counterfeit coupon for a free bag of Doritos chips up to $5 is still circulating, primarily through e-mail. It was not created, authorized or distributed by Frito-Lay. Frito-Lay says, "We have notified retailer customers of this fraud and are working with authorities to identify the source of the fraudulent coupon. You should not knowingly use a counterfeit coupon. We sincerely apologize for the disappointment and confusion this has caused. Please watch for valid coupons and sales in stores, magazines, Sunday newspaper ads, and on our credible websites."

So you ask, what is the difference between the two and how can I make sure that I have a REAL one?  Read all about real coupons, fake coupons, how to know the difference, how to keep from being taken in by fake ones and more information about appropriate couponing HERE, at the Coupon Information Corporation.  Follow them on TWITTER.

One thing that you as a fellow couponer may or may not know, is that you CANNOT buy coupons. It is illegal.  When I first started couponing and was using a major couponing website I was encouraged to buy coupons and told where to buy them and to this day, it is still posted there.  I refuse to have anything to do with this group or their activities online.

The Mommy Bloggers

Dear Mommy Blogger,
In as much as the blogging industry has turned to "All about Mommies and Mommy Issues," at 52 I still remain a woman waiting for grandchildren and interested in your blogging world but far enough removed from it to give a little holler to you and tell you that life will return to normal again.  In this picture it shows the child sitting there while the mommy is on the computer.  As a child I am glad that I didn't have to wait for the cell phone to not be in use, the computer to not be in use, the pinterest to not be capturing my mom's attention and the iPad to not be in use.  I also am not missing getting up from the sofa and turning down the commercials for my grandmother who didn't like listening to them.  Running to the rotary phone and  dialing instead of pushing buttons, shifting gears in my car on my first driver lesson from my parents, competing with kids for use of the tv, changing radio stations or putting cotton in my ears from different desires in music, using a cell phone to find out where my kid is, wondering why my kid is inside of the house instead of outside playing with friends, scanning the Internet for gluten-free products or vegan foods for my kids who refuse to eat or can't eat what the family eats, fighting the Dr's for vaccinating my kids and a whole lot more stress that you seem to blog about.  Granted, I use this blog for my own personal venting, joys, triumphs, product reviews, sharing about my family and friends, Avon products, talking about my dog, showing pictures of the foods my husband and I make together and so I have a whole different world from you.

But the fighting and competing about raising kids, working moms vs stay at home moms, coupon moms vs non coupon moms, single moms vs moms with partners and lifestyles and all the other arguments, problems with children exposed verbatim and pictures of kids who have done wrong at home exposed, whose blog is the best in this area and that area...  it gives me a headache!  There's some on the Internet about this:

The Rise of The Mommy Blogger [INFOGRAPHIC]
Mommy Wars
Watch Me Break Mommy Blogger Commandment #1


Two posts about this that I really love:
Mommy Monster
Momma’, Walk Humbly with Thy God

the rest you can "google" because this is a small point here.

We BABY BOOMERS are all grown up now and having grandchildren and offering a hand of help (if you will) to encourage you, soften the blows, listen, be enlightened, learn, share, grow with you, etc...  because your world is way different than the world in which we grew up.  Please try to get off that computer the next time you find that you feel all alone and helpless and bake something, take a kid or two with you in the bedroom and read together... real books not Kindles or Nooks, or make a cheap craft together, start writing a book together, record (oops, there are no more tape recorders), create a song together, do homework together, teach other make up tips, or look for some of us "empty nester bloggers" online and see how we came through your period of time and ask for our help if you can't ask your own mom or mother in law.  We are not so far removed from you that we can't understand what you are going through because we've been there!