A nationwide shortage of baby formula has created a new opportunity for scammers. Desperate parents are taking creative steps to feed their infants, including seeking formula from private online sellers. The Better Business Bureau says parents need to be cautious about where they attempt to buy formula. BBB Investigator Don O’Brien says there are people getting ripped off through social media postings.

And then the formula never comes, and the victim is out their money. Online purchase scams – in which consumers pay money over the internet for one thing and receive something substantially different or nothing at all – were last year’s riskiest scam, according to the 2021 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report. More than 4,000 online purchase scams have been reported to Scam Tracker so far this year.