Scammers are selling bogus home COVID-19 tests. Here's how to avoid fakes.

With home COVID-19 tests at the top of Americans' shopping lists as the Omicron variant continues to spread, scammers are trying to cash by taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers.

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission warned that online criminals are posing as legitimate sellers of over-the-counter COVID-19 testing kits. "Unauthorized at-home testing kits are popping up online as opportunistic scammers take advantage of the spike in demand," the agency said.

The scams can take different forms. Some fraudsters pretending to be genuine merchants are hawking unauthorized rapid tests, while others have no merchandise on hand and just want to take your money and run.