Pregnant woman thought Alex Cooper bought out her baby registry, only to find everything ‘missing.’ Then 40+ strangers stepped in

When expecting mother Molleigh Pompilio (@guacamolleigh) saw her Babylist registry emptied on August 17, she thought she had hit the lottery. Even more so when she saw the buyer's name listed as Alex Cooper, along with complete email information. This marked everything essential for a surprise gift from an influencer. Excited, she began sharing the news with her family, only to notice something suspicious a few days later. Then a call to Babylist revealed the shocking truth. She took to TikTok on August 21, 2026, to share the entire ordeal, racking up more than 707,000 views. 

An unexpected notification

The story began when 30-year-old Pompilio saw a notification flash across her screen that someone had swept through her baby registry. Upon opening the details, Pompilio saw that the buyer was none other than podcaster Alex Cooper, accompanied by a contact address. What made this even more convincing was the fact that Cooper, who is expecting her first child, recently began clearing baby registries as a goodwill gesture. Naturally, Pompilio thought she might've gotten lucky. "I'm freaking out," she admitted, recalling the high she rode while breaking this news to his close ones.

Red flags surface quickly

The initial elation began to sour once several days passed without any logistical progress on the deliveries. Pompilio noticed that none of the items had generated tracking numbers or shown any movement toward her address. "I started to realize, oh, nothing has tracking information; nothing is saying it's shipped," she explained. A closer inspection deepened her suspicion: nearly all things claimed to originate from Amazon, including specialized products that are not even stocked or sold through the platform. 

Babylist uncovers the truth

Determined to figure out the truth, Pompilio decided to reach out to Babylist directly to audit the orders. The platform's team stepped in immediately to trace the activity behind the supposed celebrity purchase. The probe quickly confirmed her worst fears, as she learned that this order had nothing to do with Cooper. In fact, these purchases were completely fabricated, and the company had to reset the registry. “I was in complete shock and kept scrolling back through the registry to make sure it wasn’t somehow going to disappear,” Pompilio told PEOPLE.

Naturally, the revelation brought a harsh emotional crash for the mother-to-be. "I don't know who would do this. It's literally so mean. I've literally been on such a high. And now this really sucks," she said in her video. 

The people step in

Facing down an impending delivery in October, Pompilio condemned this malicious behavior. However, at the same time, she wondered what would happen next. It was then that people started stepping into her comments, and within the next couple of days, more than 40 strangers across 21 states and two countries combined to actually clear her registry completely. Moved by this wholesome gesture, Pompilio shared her gratitude through a video while also acknowledging how other parents should be wary of such scams. Babylist also helped Pompilio reset her registry and "blocked bad actors" so something like this doesn't happen in the future, as per PEOPLE.

Online purchases are risky

Pompilio's experience shed light on the risks attached to online purchase scams apart from monetary losses. According to the Better Business Bureau's scam tracker report, 28% of all scams are from online purchases, with a striking 89.3% of victims reporting losing money. Apart from the financial setback, scams like the one Pompilio suffered also carry a mental weight. Nearly 28.7% of victims also confirmed that their mental health was affected by such incidents. 

'It’s just so cruel for no gain'

As for the people, they found it difficult to wrap their heads around the motives of the culprit. @sullins_ commented, "I don’t get the scam… Like why? It’s just so cruel for no gain… like, where are you stealing money?" Meanwhile, @lextheebaddie noted, "Just saw a video of someone saying someone did the same thing and wrote a note saying 'get a better job.' People are so, so mean for no reason."

Follow Molleigh Pompilio (@guacamolleigh) for more lifestyle content. 

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