BBB of Western Virginia warns of potential baby formula shortage scams

The recent shortage of baby formula has scammers watching. They’re popping up online and on social media, scamming parents and caregivers out of their money for formula that doesn’t exist.

An ad, post, or social media group posts they have baby formula available. The buyer contacts the seller via chat or direct message and is shown photos of the cans available. The buyer makes a payment through a peer-to-peer platform such as PayPal or Venmo, but the formula never arrives.

Signs of potential online purchase scams include:

• 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 funded by scammers.
• No indication of a physical 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.
• The seller advertises on a social media site and is communicative until the payment is made. Once the payment clears, they are unreachable.

Here are some online shopping tips to keep in mind:

• Visit BBB.org to check a business’s rating and BBB accreditation status.
• Conduct an internet search with the company name and the word “scam.” This may locate other complaints about the site.
• Think before you click. Be especially cautious about email solicitations and online ads on social media sites.
• Credit cards often provide more protection against fraud than other payment methods. Do not send payments via gift card, money transfer, or cryptocurrency.
• When you shop online, sellers are supposed to ship your order within the time stated in their ads, or within 30 daysif the ads don’t give a time. If a seller can’t ship within the promised time, it must give you a revised shipping date, with the chance to either cancel your order for a full refund or accept the new shipping date.
• Call your pediatrician to see if they have formula in stock. Pediatricians often get samples of different formulas and may be able to help. If you are a participant in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition assistance program, contact your local office to find formula.

Consumers who encounter any scams are highly encouraged to report them to BBB ScamTracker or file a complaint with BBB.