In the never-ending quest for the best deal, many people are turning to coupons to save some cash. Unfortunately, in a world where legitimate online discount/deal sites are gaining popularity, some smaller sites are taking advantage of the buzz, and ripping off potential customers.

Here’s how the fraud works. You buy a coupon online, for half the price it’s worth. That sounds like a good deal, right? But then you go to the store or restaurant to use the coupon, and the cashier says they don’t recognize the coupon and don’t plan to honor it.

The Coupon Information Corporation says you can protect yourself from fraud by never paying money for coupons online from a company you don’t recognize. They say this includes buying coupons from companies who sell the service of clipping coupons instead of the coupons themselves.

They also say you should beware of e-mails that attach coupons for free products or other offers that look like they’re too good to be true. The CIC says they are almost certainly counterfeits, and that coupons are almost never visible on your computer screen. The organization says that coupon fraud is a multi million dollar business, and that law enforcement officials have found $750 million dollars worth of fraud schemes.

Click here for more tips on how to protect yourself from coupon fraud, and for a list of counterfeit coupons. If there’s anything you want the 22News I-Team to investigate, e-mail iteam@wwlp.com.