Shortages in the supply of baby formula are leading new moms to find other ways of finding the much-needed item and risking themselves to potential online scams.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it’s taking proactive measures to increase supply to help ease the shortage, but the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says to make sure you’re getting formula from a legitimate supplier.
According to the 2021 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, online shopping scams are the riskiest. With the current supply issues on many items, including formula, scammers are watching.
Signs of a potential online purchase scam:
- Be aware of positive reviews on the website that have been copied from honest sites or created by scammers. Some review websites claim to be independent, but are actually funded by scammers. Check BBB.org to verify the legitimacy of the website.
- Another sign you’re dealing with a scam is no indication of a brick-and-mortar address, or the address shows on a Google map as a parking lot, residence or unrelated business than what is listed on the website.
- Misspellings, grammatical errors or other descriptive language that is inconsistent with the product are red flags. The seller might advertise on a social media site and is communicative until the payment is made. Once the payment clears, they are unreachable.
Check out the BBB’s website before making a purchase:
- Visit BBB.org to check a business’s rating and BBB accreditation status. Impostors have been known to copy the BBB seal. If it is real, clicking on the seal will lead to the company’s BBB profile on BBB.org. Check the domain of the URL.
- Conduct an internet search with the company name and the word “scam.” This may locate other complaints about the site.
- Make a note of the website where the order is placed. Take a screenshot of the item ordered, in case the website disappears, or a different item is received in the mail than what was advertised.
- Credit cards often provide more protection against fraud than other payment methods.
- Think before you click. Be especially cautious about email solicitations and online ads on social media sites.
Report suspected online shopping fraud to:
- Better Business Bureau - file a complaint at BBB.org or report a scam at BBB.org/scamtracker
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - file a complaint at reportfraud.ftc.gov or call 877-FTC-Help
- National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center - report intellectual property and counterfeiting violations to iprcenter.gov/referral/view
- Internet Crime Complaint enter (IC3) - file a complaint at ic3.gov/complaint
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre - file a report at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or call 1-888-495-8501
- Facebook – report ads that violate Facebooks policies by clicking the *** next to an ad to go to facebook.com/business/help
- Instagram - report copyright infringement or other policy violations at help.instagram.com
- Amazon – report suspicious activities and webpages at Amazon.com
- Google – report scams at Google.com
- PayPal - call (888) 221-1161 to speak with a live person instead of using an automated system if you receive an item that is not as advertised
- Credit card company - Call the phone number on the back of the credit card to report the fraud and request a refund
©2022 Cox Media Group