Fact Check

Free Doritos Coupons

Internet-circulated coupons can be redeemed for free bags of Doritos brand tortilla chips?

Published April 16, 2010

Claim:

Claim:   Internet-circulated coupons can be redeemed for free bags of Doritos brand tortilla chips.


FALSE


Example:   [Collected via e-mail, April 2010]


Just received manufacturer's coupons good for free bags of Doritos. Are these real?



 

Origins:   In April 2010, sheets of coupons for free bags of Doritos brand tortilla chips (up to $5.00 in value) listing an expiry date of 12/31/10 began circulating on the Internet, usually passed from inbox to inbox. However, when we spoke to both the Customer Affairs and Media Affairs groups at Frito-Lay North America (the parent company of the Doritos brand), they told us the coupons were fraudulent. The company has also posted information to that effect in the FAQ on its corporate web site:



Q. Do you have internet coupon offers?

A. Yes. At any given time, there may be several valid online offers in circulation from Frito-Lay. At this time, we have also been alerted to a fraudulent $5 coupon offer for Doritos chips that is circulating on the internet. This $5 coupon offer is not authorized by Frito-Lay. The invalid $5 coupon may not be accepted at retail outlets. We regret any inconvenience. We're working to find ways to prevent these types of counterfeit offers from misleading our consumers.


Last updated:   16 April 2010

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.