7 Warning Signs You Are Being Scammed on Bed Bath and Beyond When Buying High-End Air Purifiers

Fake Liquidation Ad: Scammers exploit the closure or financial difficulties of retailers (like Bed Bath and Beyond's past bankruptcy) to create fake liquidation sales. They advertise heavily discounted, high-end air purifiers on social media or through pop-up ads. These ads lead to fraudulent websites designed to steal your money and personal information, with no intention of delivering the product.

Imposter URL Phishing: Be extremely cautious of URLs that mimic the official Bed Bath and Beyond website. Scammers often create look-alike sites with slight misspellings or added characters (e.g., 'bedbathandbeyond-sale.com' instead of the legitimate URL). Clicking on these links, often found in social media ads or unsolicited emails, can lead you to fake sites designed to harvest your login credentials and payment details.

Misleading 'Closing' Sale: Similar to fake liquidation ads, scammers capitalize on news of store closures or sales. They create fake 'closing down' sales for Bed Bath and Beyond, offering unbelievably low prices on air purifiers. These sites are often poorly designed, lack contact information, and may use stolen logos. Purchases made on these sites rarely result in product delivery, and your payment information is compromised.

Photo-Only Item Listing: While less common for new electronics, some scam listings might use high-quality product images of air purifiers without providing any genuine product details or seller information. These listings are designed to lure victims with attractive visuals, and the actual item, if ever sent, would be of vastly inferior quality or not delivered at all.

Bait-and-Switch Quality: Scammers might advertise a specific, high-end air purifier model at a competitive price. However, upon purchase and delivery, you receive a much lower-quality, counterfeit, or non-functional unit. This is a common tactic where the attractive initial listing is just bait to get you to commit to a purchase, only to receive a subpar product.

Ghost Tracking Number: After you make a purchase on a fraudulent site, you might be provided with a tracking number. However, this tracking number may be fake, not update, or show delivery to a location far from yours. This is done to delay your realization of the scam or to make it appear as though the item was shipped, making it harder to dispute the charge.

Membership Auto-Renewal Trap: While not directly related to the air purifier itself, be wary of offers that bundle in 'exclusive' membership programs like Bed Bath & Beyond's historical BEYOND+ program. Scammers might exploit these programs to charge recurring fees without clear consent or make cancellation difficult, adding hidden costs to your purchase. Always review membership terms carefully and opt-out if unsure.