How can consumers be certain that a coupon obtained from the Internet is legitimate? How can manufacturers and retailers ensure the coupons are not counterfeited? Go to the Coupon Information Corporation’s Web site to learn more about this problem (www.couponinformationcenter.com/).

Consumers love saving money, especially during economic downturns. That makes coupons a very attractive promotional tool. And what better way to deliver coupons than via the Internet? After a slowdown following counterfeit Internet coupon problems between 2001 and 2003, manufacturers and retailers are now coming back to online printable coupons—and consumers are responding. Scarborough Research reports Internet coupon usage among U.S. households has increased 83 percent since 2005. Coupon, Inc., is the leading provider of printable coupons for more than 600 consumer package-goods retailers and manufacturers, distributing coupons through 2,000 Web sites. You can find coupons available just about everywhere on the Internet. Delta Airlines has even launched online boarding-pass ads containing coupons for discounts at fliers’ destinations. However, Bud Miller, executive director of the Coupon Information

Corporation warns that counterfeit coupons are once again on the rise.