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Publix Coupon Scam: Fake Publix $75 Coupon Makes Waves On Facebook

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 04:57 PST, May 12, 2016

Buyers beware: There is a fraudulent Publix coupon scam making its rounds on Facebook.

If you have noticed any posts featuring a Publix $75 coupon being shared by your Facebook friends, it would be in your best interests to ignore it.

Publix coupon
[Image via Facebook]

The Publix coupon offer, which does appear somewhat legitimate, offers customers $75 off of their purchase. The impressive part about this particular Publix coupon, though, is the minimum purchase requirement.

According to the description, you can use this coupon for a “purchase of $80.00 or more.” This means that you would be able to walk away from Publix with $80 worth of merchandise for nearly $5, a deal that not very many consumers would pass up if it was a legitimate offer.

However, as many people have already found out by clicking the link, this fraudulent Publix coupon offer is definitely not what it seems.

There are quite a few elements of the Publix coupon post that make it look authentic, including the following elements.

  • Publix company logo and slogan
  • fine print outlining the coupon’s terms and conditions
  • bar code and UPC number

The expiration date of May 29, 2016, along with the fact that there is only “235 remaining” introduce a sense of urgency for interested consumers to get involved. That sense of urgency likely plays a major role in convincing a vast number of people to click the link attached to it.

However, there are also several elements of this suspicious post that should draw red flags with consumers as well.

For instance, the headline of the Publix coupon offer claims that the savings opportunity is part of the company’s 90th-anniversary celebration. According to the company’s official website, George W. Jenkins opened the first Publix food store in Winter Haven, Florida in 1930.

“In the midst of the Great Depression, George Jenkins walked away from the security of a good job to open the first Publix store in Winter Haven, Fla. This store set not only a new precedent for cleanliness and beauty, but also the Publix standard for employee relations.”

Therefore, in 2016, the company would only be celebrating its 86th anniversary — nearly four years away from the 90th anniversary promoted on the fake Publix coupon offer.

The website link on the coupon, Publix.Com-May.Com, is not an official Publix website. It actually connects customers to a separate website.

Publix coupon

The website encourages customers to follow “two simple steps” in order to receive their Publix $75 coupon. The first step is to share the coupon offer on Facebook, allowing them to inadvertently keep the fake Publix coupon in circulation by sharing it with their online friends.

Publix confirmed that the Publix $75 coupon was fraudulent on Twitter Wednesday. The company posted a picture of the coupon along with a statement claiming that it is not “valid at any Publix location.”

Publix is not the first popular company targeted by this ongoing fraudulent coupon scam. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, this Facebook coupon scam seems to be making its rounds with a number of different stores, including JCPenney, Walmart, and ALDI.

When it comes to finding legitimate coupons from major retailers, supermarkets, and department stores, the most accurate source is usually the actual company itself. There have been numerous reports published in recent years after fraudulent coupon scams that lead to unrelated surveys and offers that were never actually promoted or authorized by the targeted companies.

As mentioned above, if you do happen to see a Publix coupon offering $75 off an $80 purchase, it may be in your best interests to avoid and ignore it.

[Photo by Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images]

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