Cops warn of counterfeit cigarette coupons

MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Police in one northwestern Pennsylvania township say someone tried to pass a counterfeit cigarette coupon at a convenience store.

Vernon Township police say a 20-year-old man tried to use a phony coupon for $4 off a pack of Marlboro cigarettes at a Sheetz store near Meadville on Sunday.

Police say the coupons are made to appear as though they are from a company called Smartsource, which offers coupons online and in mailed circulars.

But police say the coupons are bogus and that the computerized bar codes on the coupons cannot be read by cash registers.

Police haven’t charged the man in Sunday’s attempt, but are investigating leads that suggest the coupons were produced locally. Vernon Township is about 85 miles north of Pittsburgh.