Parents to be very careful when purchasing baby formula online as more scammers try to profit by the baby formula shortage, SC Attorney General Alan Wilson advises

Charleston, South Carolina – The baby formula shortage continues to cause problems for parents who are having hard times to properly feed their babies lately.

Due to the baby formula shortage, a problem that especially escalated in the last few weeks, many parents are switching to other formulas or even trying to make a formula on their own, resulting with more and more infants hospitalized.

Few days ago, several babies were hospitalized at the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital at the Medical University of South Carolina. Three babies were hospitalized due to bad reaction to new formulas, while one baby was made sick by mineral imbalances from a formula that a parent tried to mix on their own.

In an effort to find a formula, many parents rely on Facebook groups created with the intention to help parents looking for formula. With more and more parents looking for a solution online, the number of reported scams nationwide has increased lately and so is the case in South Carolina.

The problem was also noted by the SC Attorney General Alan Wilson who decided to share some useful tips with parents in order to avoid scams and lose money.

“As a parent, I understand the importance and stress associated with providing for your children,” said Wilson. “I am very concerned about the shortage and encourage South Carolinians to remain vigilant to avoid activity that could result in harm to their children or financial losses,” Wilson said. “Anyone who attempts to take advantage of South Carolinians impacted by this situation will be held accountable to the full extent of the law,” Wilson added.

According to Wilson, parents are advised to use authorized retailers and be very careful with online purchasing. In addition, Wilson advises parents to carefully check the product they have purchased and confirm the product is genuine. And last but not least, parents are advised to use credit cards whenever they can as the use of credit cards adds additional protection in case of fraudulent transaction.

In case of a potential fraud, parents are advised to directly contact and report incidents to the Attorney General’s Office by calling 803-737-3953 or simply calling 911.