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Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for October 23, 2021 is:

bogus • BOH-gus  • adjective

Bogus means “not real or genuine”—it is synonymous with fake or counterfeit.

// The art dealer proved the painting to be bogus.

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Examples:

“Investigators said Talens … cheated manufacturers and merchants of more than $31 million by producing bogus coupons that gave customers merchandise at steep discounts—or for free.” — Jonathan Edwards, The Washington Post. 18 Sept. 2021

Did you know?

In the early 19th century, a “bogus” was a machine used to make counterfeit coins. No one knows for sure how this coin-copying contraption got its name, but before long bogus became a name for funny money or for a fraudulent imitation of any kind. The more common “phony” adjective followed.