Who is Jenny B? Letters mailed to unsuspecting women are raising concerns

The Better Business Bureau is alerting consumers to “be critical” of mail congratulating them on pregnancies and providing various gift cards and coupons to motherhood websites after connecting the letters — signed “Jenny B” — to a company called Mothers Lounge.

Thousands of women across America and Canada have reported receiving the seemingly handwritten cards which offer congratulations on expecting a baby.

“I’m so excited for you. I hope you like these,” the cards all read, with a signature from someone named Jenny B. But many of the recipients of the notes have taken to social media to share that they don’t know who Jenny B is, and aren’t even pregnant.

Kadie Humphreys, a 26-year-old mother-of-two from Florida, is one of the latest recipients of the letter after receiving it on Saturday. She tells Yahoo Lifestyle that since she’s not expecting, she figured it might have been sent to her by mistake and took to Twitter to clarify.

“There is a community called ‘mom twitter’ where I assumed other moms may have received the same mailing, maybe one of them sent to me, or maybe they wanted the coupons,” Humphreys writes via Twitter direct message. “Nobody I know has received it but some people replied to my tweet saying they saw an article posted on Facebook.”

According to the BBB’s alert, it has been notified of identical letters and gift cards that it warns are being sent out from a Utah-based company, Mothers Lounge LLC., owned by a woman named Jeanette Pierce, who is likely “Jenny B.”

“To date, BBB serving Northern Nevada and Utah has found fifteen affiliate businesses, including Thoughtful Gift Cards and Canopy Couture. These gift cards are sent all over the U.S. and Canada in an envelope which appears to have lost its return label when it never had one in the first place,” the BBB alert reads. “This is likely a marketing tactic meant to make the envelope look more like mail from a friend.”

Consumers have even complained that the $245 worth of gift cards provided in the mailing seem to only increase the shipping cost on orders that they’ve attempted to complete on any of the affiliate sites, nearly to the same price as the card itself. The many complaints — which date back to February 2019 — have led the BBB to give the Mother’s Lounge an F rating and even reach out to the company with concerns about their advertising practices.

“On March 7th, we reviewed their advertising practices and reached out to them,” Britta Clark, Director of Communications at the BBB Serving Northern Nevada and Utah, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Even though we have not yet heard back from Mother's Lounge regarding BBB's concerns with their mailed advertising, we still hope the business will resolve the issue and answer the people that have complained about their marketing strategies.”

Scott Anderson of the Mothers Lounge marketing team sent the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle:

And although Anderson explained that “qualified recipients” had opted-in for maternity deals through a third party company “at one point,” Humphreys explains why the marketing tactic is insensitive.

“Even though I found it a bit funny, I’m fortunate to not have suffered infant loss or miscarriage. It wouldn’t be the same response if so,” Humphreys writes. “I feel for those who may have opened it and had a possibly heartbreaking reaction.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Does social media make teens anxious and depressed? A new study debunks a common belief

• Jenna Dewan opens up about her 2nd pregnancy: ‘I feel this deeper earth mama sense about me’

• Schools nationwide are offering mental health days to address growing issues among teens

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