That $75 Mother's Day Coupon for Bed, Bath & Beyond You Saw on Facebook Is a Scam

Mother’s Day is swiftly approaching, meaning you should probably order flowers or buy her that purse she’s been eyeing sooner rather than later. But as retailers roll out the pre-holiday sales, be on guard for a fake coupon from Bed, Bath & Beyond that’s been making the rounds on Facebook. As TODAY reports, the voucher is a scam designed to trick consumers into parting with their personal information.

The Mother’s Day offer guarantees shoppers $75 off an in-store purchase, but what it really does is lead them to a domain name that closely resembles—but doesn’t really belong to—Bed, Bath & Beyond's website. Discount hunters are required to fill out a phony survey to complete the deal, and to share the coupon with Facebook friends. (Needless to say, they don’t end up scoring the coupon.)

Bed, Bath & Beyond caught wind of the scheme, and is now warning customers about the fraudulent promotion. The company says it’s partnered with Facebook to have the coupons removed—but in the future, they advise patrons to contact their local Bed, Bath & Beyond store (or call their customer service phone number) if they spot a too-good-to-be-true deal.

This isn’t the first time a Facebook scam has tried to exploit bargain hunters: Just last month, a similar Facebook scam promised Lowes customers $50 off Mother’s Day coupons in exchange for filing out a short survey. However, you can avoid falling victim to these kinds of tricks by following the Better Business Bureau’s advice for spotting bogus coupons, as shared by Snopes:

Don’t believe what you see. It’s easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender. Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there’s a link to their privacy policy. Watch out for a reward that’s too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions.

[h/t TODAY]