Con Watch: Be Cautious of Weight Loss Scams

Steve Weisman is a lawyer, college professor, author, and one of the country’s leading experts in cybersecurity, identity theft, and scams. See Steve’s other Con Watch articles.

Weight loss scams are among the most common, particularly at this time of year. Many people make new year’s resolutions to lose weight, and most of the phony products promise to do that for you easily without diet or exercise.

The unfortunate truth is that there is no magic formula for quick and easy weight loss without diet and exercise, but scammers continue to prey on people looking for that quick solution to their weight difficulties. The Internet is filled with legitimate-appearing websites and social media posts that tout scientifically unproven weight loss products and programs that often appear to be endorsed by various celebrities. However, almost all of these – including the celebrities who appear to endorse them – are fake.

You may have seen ads with convincing videos of celebrities such as Kelly Clarkson and Oprah Winfrey, who have both recently lost considerable weight, endorsing keto weight loss gummies.  However, the videos are deep fakes, and neither Kelly Clarkson nor Oprah Winfrey has endorsed these products. In this era of AI and deepfakes, you can’t trust your eyes and ears, so always confirm any celebrity endorsement before you trust it. You can do this by checking the celebrity’s official website or press release statements or by searching the celebrity’s name plus the word “scam” to see what comes up.

The drug class known as GLP-1 agonists, which includes the prescription drug semaglutide, was initially developed and used to treat diabetes, but has been increasingly used off-label. That’s when a drug is prescribed for a purpose other than what it has been approved for by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (Semaglutide is only approved for weight loss under a few brand names, such as Wegovy.) Since insurance companies generally don’t cover the cost of prescription drugs for weight loss, many people eager to try semaglutide are turning to online pharmacies and other sources for what is often referred to as generic Ozempic (one of the more well-known brand names for semaglutide). No generic form of the drug has been approved by the FDA, and what people are receiving may be either ineffectual or even harmful. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has a list of websites selling fraudulent and unsafe medications.  Before even considering buying a prescription drug online, you should see if the site you are considering is legitimate.

Some weight loss products offered by scammers may not only be useless, but could also react adversely with prescription drugs you may be taking or may itself be harmful, so you should never buy a weight loss pill, powder, or other product that does not specifically indicate its ingredients. In addition, because supplements are not controlled by the FDA, even if there’s a list of ingredients, there’s no oversight for the amount, origin, or quality of the ingredients. Only prescription drugs are approved by the FDA, which does not evaluate or approve dietary supplements or non-prescription weight loss products or programs. The FDA maintains a list of weight loss products with dangerous tainted ingredients.

Some diet scams offer a free trial, but if you read the fine print (and rarely is there anything fine in fine print), you will find that you have signed up for a continuing, expensive program that is nearly impossible to cancel.  Another way scammers trick you into signing up for subscription is by having barely noticeable pre-checked boxes that automatically enroll you when you sign up for a free trial.

When making any purchase either online or in a brick-and-mortar store, avoid using your debit card and instead use your credit card.  Federal law limits liability for fraudulent purchases using a credit card to no more than $50 and frankly, no credit card company even charges that amount.  Your entire payment will be refunded. However, when using a debit card tied to your bank account, if you do not promptly report being scammed, you run the risk of losing all of the money in your account.

The truth is that there are no quick fixes when it comes to weight loss and you should be wary of any product that promises you can lose tremendous amounts of weight quickly without dieting or exercise. There’s almost no scientific evidence that shows that any weight loss supplements work. You should also be wary of any weight loss product that is sold exclusively over the Internet or through mail-order advertisements. The best course of action is to ask your physician about the effectiveness of a particular weight loss product or program before you reduce your wallet in an effort to reduce your waistline.