Yesterday, we received an e-mail forward contaning a PDF file of the image at right. Right away, some of us voiced skepticism that the coupon could possibly be real. First of all, when Starbucks does giveaways, they only give out tall sizes. And second, who on earth would distribute a free drink coupon as a PDF? What’s to stop some terrorist email user from making a thousand copies and standing in front of a Starbucks retail location, handing them out to everyone who walks in the door? It’d be madness, we said. Monkeys playing fiddles while riding on top of pigs madness.

But then we started seeing reports like the one here, from people claiming the coupon had worked for them. And if there’s anything we hate, it’s hearing that people are getting stuff for free and missing out on the action ourselves. So we wrote to Starbucks, asking for answers. They wrote us back a few hours later, saying they were crafting a response and would get back to us shortly. But a day later, we still have heard nothing. And then we saw this story. Those sneaky MSM rascals at Reuters beat us to it, probably by applying devious reporting tactics like making follow-up phone calls. Damn you, real reporters. We’ll get you if it’s the last thing we do!

The company said an e-mail offering a free Starbucks iced coffee was sent to a limited group of employees in the southeast on August 23 with instructions to forward it to friends and family.

However, Starbucks said the offer was redistributed beyond the original intent. Effective immediately, the offer will no longer be valid at any Starbucks locations.

To sum up: Starbucks sent out a free drink coupon via e-mail, which it intended only to be forwarded to family and friends of certain employees, and was surprised when it circulated rapidly around the country. Well, let us be the first to welcome you to the Internet, SBux. Be careful out there.