Discount coupons are a way of life and with good reason.  Many coupons can reduce the cost of your purchases dramatically.  During the holiday shopping season, people are looking for extra savings wherever they can find them.  One place you may find them is in an email or text message from a company with which you do business.  The email may look just like a legitimate message from a retailer with which you do business, but in many instances it will be a counterfeit coupon that will either lure you into clicking on a link that will download keystroke logging malware on to your computer or smartphone that will enable the criminal to steal personal information from your electronic device and use it to make you a victim of identity theft or you will be required to provide personal information in order to access the coupon.  Again, this information is used to make you a victim of identity theft.

TIPS

It is impossible to be able to be sure as to whether or not a coupon you receive in an email or text message is legitimate or not.  Even the email address or number of the sender can be faked to make it appear legitimate.  However, this does not mean that you have to lose out on the coupon.  If indeed it is a legitimate coupon, it will also be available on the particular retailer’s website so merely go to the company’s website (and not by clicking on a link in the text message or email) and you will be able to access real coupons.