Protect Yourself When Buying Weight Loss Products Online

Weight loss products have always been popular, and scammers are known to take advantage of popular products and trends. Recently, GLP-1 medications have become a popular treatment for weight loss, diabetes, and other medical needs, so the demand is high and the availability is limited. This provides a perfect opportunity for scammers to target consumers with fraudulent sales listings and products.

Consumers may receive texts, emails, or social media ads promoting a weight loss product, click the link they are sent, and find an online pharmacy or health product retailer is selling it at a discounted price – and sometimes with no prescription needed. What they don’t realize is that this is a fake website set up and promoted by a scammer to look like a legitimate seller. If they make a purchase through this website, they may receive a fraudulent product or no product at all – and all their payment information will be sent directly to the scammer.

Consumers may be convinced to try a product if someone they trust appears to support it, so some scammers are using A.I.-powered deepfake technology to create convincing representations of celebrities and health influencers endorsing “their” weight loss products. But the real person being impersonated has no involvement with the product at all.

Some consumers have purchased products online that claim to be GLP-1 medications. These include injections, pills, nasal sprays, liquid drops, and even skin patches. But when the products arrived, they did not contain the medication that was advertised, were a different brand than what the consumer purchased, or came from unlicensed or fake pharmacies.

Some scammers offer fake GLP-1 prescriptions through “telehealth” appointments, but these “prescriptions” are not written by a real doctor and can only be used at their fake or unlicensed pharmacy. Real GLP-1 medications require a prescription, cannot be bought over the counter, and are only available through state-licensed pharmacies. Consumers with questions related to their health or wellness, or a new medication, should consult their primary healthcare provider. If a consumer believes a product or service they purchased was misrepresented to them, they can file a complaint with DATCP.