New Jersey Woman buys box of Huggies from Target. Then she opens the box—and sees everything but diapers: ‘Who does this?’

A woman with a 2-year-old baby and a newborn went to Target to purchase a big box of Huggies. But right before her husband went to work, she noticed it didn’t have any diapers in it.

Deanna Joi (@mamadeedee93) said that instead of receiving a big box of diapers, she found “ a blanket, plastic, and a shirt,” or some form of cloth in the box. 

“ I don’t know if this is a Huggies problem or a Target problem,” she said. “There’s no diapers in this.”

Her video describing the box’s content has more than 4.3 million views. But why wasn’t there anything inside the package?

Why is there anything but Huggies in the box?

Return fraud schemes are deceptively simple: A customer purchases a product. Then they empty the box the product came in and fill it with anything and everything they don’t need. 

They take it to the store they purchased it from and hope that an employee doesn’t check it before they get out the door. Then, that box either gets searched and discovered as fraudulent or placed back on the shelf for another customer to mistakenly buy. 

Alternatively, a customer might simply switch out their undesirable items with whatever they want inside any given store. It happens everywhere. One woman noticed a beaten, old purse at a T.J Maxx, which commenters theorized was switched out as part of a retail fraud scheme. 

Diaper costs in the United States

For many viewers, a person stealing diapers isn’t necessarily unexpected. In fact, many products related to infant care are swiped from stores. Infant formula is considered one of the top products that individuals steal. But why?

The biggest reason? Rising costs. 

On average, households spend $70 to $80 on diapers per month, with infants requiring up to 12 diapers per day, according to CBS News. When money is tight, that can lead to sacrifices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many families had little disposable income, that meant sacrificing savings, spending less on food, borrowing money from family or friends, or even accruing credit card debt. 

Today, diapers are still difficult to purchase for countless families across the country. The National Diaper Bank Network (NBDN) reports that 46% of U.S. families with young children under age 4 reported experiencing diaper insecurity in 2024. In May 2026, the NBDN found that figure increased. Half of U.S. families with young children reported struggling with diaper costs. 

@mamadeedee93 Well if you wanted to see me cry today #momsoftiktok #postpartum #diapers #newborn #babiesoftiktok @Huggies® @target ♬ original sound – Deanna Joi

The dilemma

Often, when one person takes, it leaves another without. In this case, Joi ended up being the person who got burned by the retail fraud, even though she purchased diapers from Target directly. 

Joi herself said that not having the diapers on hand was a huge inconvenience.  “ I’m four weeks postpartum, and now I have to lug my four-week-old and my 24-month-old to Target,” she said. “My husband’s about to go to his night shift, which I’m already anxious about. My postpartum anxiety could not handle this.”

She added that the incident left her in tears. Even if she managed to return the product and receive her money back, she still would have to go through the exhaustive process of the return, which for her was too much to handle. 

Commenters agreed that the retail fraud led to a negative outcome. But they placed blame on Target for taking the returned diapers in the first place. 

“Returning diapers should never be allowed. Anywhere. Sounds unsanitary,” one viewer said. 

“Target should 100% check the box as soon as someone brought it back to ‘return,’” another viewer added. 

The Mary Sue has reached out to Joi, Huggies, and Target via email.

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