How to Spot Mother’s Day Shopping Scams: BBB Alert and Safety Tips

If you’re planning to buy a gift for Mother’s Day, you might want to double-check the website or the person you’re dealing with. The Better Business Bureau recently issued a scam alert, reported by the Daily Herald on May 7, 2026, warning that con artists are specifically targeting Mother’s Day shoppers. According to the alert, fraudulent online stores, gift card schemes, and phishing emails are circulating more heavily as the holiday approaches.

What Happened

The BBB alert outlines a pattern that repeats every holiday season, but with a Mother’s Day twist. Scammers create fake e-commerce sites that appear to sell popular gifts like jewelry, flowers, or personalized items. They often promote these sites through social media ads or sponsored search results, sometimes using photos stolen from legitimate retailers. The prices are too good to be real, but the sense of urgency (“order today to arrive by Mother’s Day”) pushes shoppers to click without verifying.

Other common tactics include:

  • Gift card fraud: A scammer poses as a family member or friend, claiming they need a gift card for a last-minute present. They ask you to read the card numbers and PIN over the phone or text.
  • Phishing emails: Messages pretending to be from a delivery service, a loved one, or a retailer you’ve used before. The email includes a link that leads to a fake login page designed to steal your credentials.
  • Fake online stores: Sites with poor grammar, no contact information, or only accepting payment through methods like wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or prepaid debit cards.

The Daily Herald report notes that the BBB’s Scam Tracker has already received complaints from consumers who lost money to these operations.

Why It Matters

Mother’s Day shopping involves more emotional urgency than a regular purchase. People are often in a hurry, looking for something meaningful, and may let their guard down. Gift card scams are especially dangerous because once you share the card numbers, the money is almost impossible to recover. Similarly, purchases from fake websites rarely end with a refund, and your payment information may be used for identity theft.

The timing of the alert is not accidental. Scammers monitor calendars and ramp up their efforts just before major holidays. Because the window for ordering and shipping is tight, they know shoppers are less likely to question a deal or a suspicious email. If you fall for a Mother’s Day scam, you lose both the money and the gift—and you might end up dealing with months of fraud fallout.

What Readers Can Do

You can significantly reduce your risk by following a few practical steps:

  1. Research the seller before you pay. Look up the company on the BBB website, search for consumer complaints, and check independent reviews. If a site has no history or very few reviews, treat it as suspicious.
  2. Use a credit card for online purchases. Credit cards offer better fraud protection than debit cards or payment apps. If you don’t receive the item or the charge is fraudulent, you can dispute it with your card issuer.
  3. Be skeptical of unsolicited messages. If an email or text claims to be from a family member asking for a gift card, call that person directly to confirm. Do not click links in messages that you didn’t expect.
  4. Watch for payment red flags. Legitimate online stores accept standard payment methods like credit cards, PayPal, or Apple Pay. If the seller insists on wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or prepaid debit cards, walk away.
  5. Keep your software and antivirus updated. Phishing links can also lead to malware. A simple security update can block many common threats.
  6. Monitor your accounts. After making any purchase, check your bank and credit card statements for unauthorized charges. Report anything unusual immediately.

If you do fall for a scam, act quickly. Contact your bank or credit card issuer to stop payment if possible. File a report with the BBB Scam Tracker and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. These reports help law enforcement track patterns and may assist in shutting down fraudulent operations.

Sources

  • BBB Scam Alert (May 7, 2026), as reported by the Daily Herald: “BBB scam alert: Con artists target Mother’s Day shoppers”
  • Federal Trade Commission – Consumer Advice on Shopping Scams
  • BBB Scam Tracker