Post From Community: BBB Warning: Baby formula shortage leads to potential scams | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
BBB Wisconsin
May 22, 2022
BBB Warning: Baby formula shortage leads to potential scams
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 is taking proactive measures to increase supply to help ease the shortage.
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.
How it works
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An ad, post, or social media group posts they have baby formula available. The buyer contacts the seller via chat or direct message, showing photos of the cans available. The buyer makes a payment through a peer-to-peer platform such as PayPal (a BBB Accredited Business) or Venmo (a BBB Accredited Business), but the formula never arrives.
Signs of a potential online purchase scam include:
Check out the website before making a purchase:
Report suspected online shopping fraud to:
For more information
For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.