ALLENTOWN (TNS) — My family has been fortunate during the pandemic. With our vaccinations and the precautions we’ve taken, and surely some luck, we haven’t had any infection scares.

Still, when I came across some rapid self tests Wednesday morning at my neighborhood hardware store, I scooped them up.

With the omicron variant running wild even in vaccinated folks, it can’t hurt to have tests handy so we won’t have to wait in a long line at a clinic should testing be needed. Or scramble to find self tests.

We’re also now prepared for the possibility that our son will have to show a negative test to return to college at the end of the month.

When you are desperate to find testing, you also can fall victim to scams, and I didn’t want to be in that position.

Tuesday, I saw a warning about that from the Federal Trade Commission.

“Fake and unauthorized at-home testing kits are popping up online as opportunistic scammers take advantage of the spike in demand,” the agency said.

The warning echoed calls from the Food and Drug Administration late last year.

“You will risk unknowingly spreading COVID-19 or not getting treated appropriately if you use an unauthorized test,” it warned.

Consult the FDA’s list of approved home tests before buying. You can find the list of antigen diagnostic tests online, as well as the list of molecular diagnostic tests. OraSure Technologies in Bethlehem is among those that are producing approved at-home tests.

I made sure the test I bought, CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Home Test by AccessBio, was approved. They weren’t cheap — I paid $64 for two boxes of two tests — and I didn’t want to waste my money.

Be cautious if you buy tests online. The FTC offered these tips:

Check a seller before you buy, especially if you’re buying from a site you aren’t familiar with. Search online for the website, company or seller’s name plus words like “scam,” “complaint” or “review.”

Compare reviews from a variety of websites. You can get a good idea about a company, product or service from reading user reviews. Think about the source of the review. Ask yourself: Where is this review coming from? Is it from an expert organization or individual customers?

Pay by credit card. If you’re charged for an order you don’t receive, or for a product that’s not as advertised, contact your credit card company and dispute the charge.

Choose wisely if you plan to go to a testing site, too.

Tuesday, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health warned it can be difficult to know if a testing site is legitimate.

It issued guidance in response to inquiries it had received about sites that had popped up as the demand for testing increased. The department is investigating street tent testing locations that claimed to be sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at a time when FEMA was not running clinics in Philadelphia.

“It’s possible these places are doing legitimate testing, but given some of the previous problems we’ve had with partners and a group misrepresenting themselves on something as basic as who’s funding them, it gives us pause and we ask the residents of Philadelphia to be careful when they look for testing sites,” department spokesperson James Garrow told WHYY.

The department’s advice is universal and should be heeded anywhere.

Ask who the testing site is affiliated with. The location where they are set up should be able to vouch for the testing group.

Look for logos of institutions on paperwork and signs; call those institutions to make sure the testing site is legitimately affiliated with them.

COVID testing sites may ask for your insurance information but should not charge you for testing.

COVID testing sites should not ask for your Social Security number.

It’s also important to check the expiration date on test kits.

The ones I bought Wednesday expire at the end of the month, but a sign at the store said the FDA routinely has been extending the dates.

Don’t assume a kit is no good even if the date has passed. Check the manufacturer’s website or the FDA’s website (fda.gov) to see if the date has been extended.

(Paul Muschick is a columnist for The Morning Call of Allentown.)