Ozempic users beware! In the latest online scam, con artists are stealing millions from people unknowingly ordering the drug online from fake websites while putting their health at serious risk with imitation products. According to cyber security expert Abhishek Karnik, who is McAfee’s Head of Threat Research, people are getting duped, and this is one of the “scariest” money scams he’s encountered in his career.
Check Out: How To Borrow Money from Cash App: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Learn More: 6 Money Moves You Must Make If You Want To Be Like the Wealthy
“The impact of Ozempic-related scams can be severe in terms of their impact on a victim’s finances, health, and well-being,” he told GOBankingRates.
Ozempic has surged in popularity for weight loss in the last couple of years. Although the drug was created and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a diabetes treatment, about 1 in 8 adults in the United States has used a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic, and half of them — about 6% of adults, or more than 15 million people — are currently using a prescription, according to data from KFF.
As a result of so many people using Ozempic for weight loss, it’s causing a shortage of medication for diabetics, per NPR, and scammers see this as an opportunity. Here’s what to know. Also check out how to withdraw money from your bank account.
Earning passive income doesn’t need to be difficult. You can start this week.
The Health Risks
Buying from unrecognized sellers is never advised for any goods, including medications. In this scam, online criminals impersonate doctors and offer people Ozempic without prescriptions.
“Scammers often market these drugs without a prescription, bypassing the safety checks of legitimate medical providers,” Karnik said. “This means these drugs may go beyond being ineffective to causing harm. In extreme cases, they can negatively affect the user’s health.
He added, “This is a real risk because unauthorized sellers typically do not disclose potential side effects and may sell products that have not undergone safety testing.”
Discover More: 8 Rare Coins Worth Millions That Are Highly Coveted by Coin Collectors
People Have Lost Millions
The scam is threatening not only your health but also your wallet. People who want to get around the Ozempic shortage or pay less are actually costing them a lot more.
“Financially, people can lose significant amounts of money, from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per transaction, when purchasing through unauthorized resellers offering supposed alternatives to Ozempic,” Karnik explained. “McAfee’s research uncovered that on Telegram alone, scammers have likely made millions of dollars on this type of scam in the past few months.”
Story continues
The scam can draw in countless people at once, which means the scammers are raking in the victim’s money at a fast pace.
“Based on conservative estimates of what McAfee’s Threat Research team has observed on underground channels and noting that this is a $7.6B market in the US alone, we estimate about 9,000 people were scammed — losing a total of $6M in just the first five months of this year — on just a single platform,” Karnik said.
He continued, “Typically, victims lost about $700 each month for a one-month supply of the drug. If these numbers are extrapolated to include several similar platforms, total losses could easily climb into the tens of millions of dollars – and over the course of a year, easily more than $100M – pointing to the massive scale and financial impact of these scams.”
How People Are Targeted
Fake websites and channels are designed to allure unsuspecting consumers looking for Ozempic. Consumers purchase from unknown sites, which is dangerous because you don’t know what you’re getting. When people search for the drug, phony sites pop up offering information about Ozempic.
“People often discover these channels when searching for weight loss solutions on social media or through messaging apps and are drawn in by seemingly positive — and often fabricated — reviews from other users,” Karnik explained. “As these people seek more information, they are gradually lured into the scam, and with each channel possibly having thousands of subscribers, the potential scale of these scams is tremendous.”
AI Tools Make the Scam Even More Convincing
Websites used as a ploy to take your money and personal information are designed to look so real that you don’t know they’re fake, and AI is helping scammers reel in more people.
“AI is a tool increasingly used by cybercriminals to increase the scale, effectiveness, and speed of scams, Karnik said. “These scammers are dedicated opportunists who can pivot quickly when an opportunity – like heightened interest in weight loss drugs like Ozempic – rises, to meet consumers where their interest is.”
Online thieves use various methods to attract more victims and a wide range of digital platforms to steal their money and personal information.
“For example, across scam types, cyber crooks create fake websites and social media accounts, as well as fraudulent accounts on messaging platforms like Telegram, and even post AI-generated reviews,” Karnik stated.
The Scammers Can Also Steal Your Identity
According to Karnik, the Ozempiz scam can also steal identities, besides stealing money and jeopardizing others’ health.
“Scam victims may share sensitive personal information, including details about their health, to cyber crooks, leading to additional fraud and identity theft, he said. “It is important for consumers to understand that prescription medications should only be purchased through trusted providers with a prescription, and any claims that seem too good to be true likely are.”
There Are Numerous Victims
Since cybercriminals operate in different countries using various platforms, it’s difficult to give an accurate number of victims, but Karnik estimates too many.
“Our preliminary research, which includes analysis of platforms such as Craigslist, social media, and Telegram, allowed us to identify numerous channels that exploit the demand for these weight loss drugs,” he said.
Karnik continued, “One Telegram channel dedicated to this type of scam saw its membership grow from 13,362 to 15,599 in just a few weeks in May 2024 – though it should be noted that a number of these accounts are fake and created to make the channel appear more credible and popular than it is.”
How To Stay Safe
There are many ways to safeguard yourself from falling for the Ozempic scam, including only getting medication from reliable sources such as licensed medical centers and prescriptions from well-known pharmacies.
Here are red flags to watch out for, according to Karnik.
-
Be cautious of prescription drugs being advertised through channels like Craigslist, social media, or messaging platforms like Telegram. These are not traditional channels for purchasing prescription medicine, and offers are frequently fraudulent.
-
Use extra caution with sellers who encourage you to avoid filing insurance claims or offer discounts that seem too good to be true.
-
Beware of requests for payment via methods that provide little to no recourse for recovering funds, such as gift cards, Venmo, Zelle, or cryptocurrency.
Report the Crime
If you’ve been scammed, there are ways to fight back, and reporting the crime is the first step.
“If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam, it’s crucial to act quickly by reporting the loss to your bank immediately, blocking your credit card to prevent unauthorized charges, and reporting the crime to relevant authorities, including local law enforcement and local cybercrime units,” Karnik advised. “If you have consumed potentially counterfeit products, please talk to your doctor.”
Cyber Attacks Are Rising
The Ozempic scam is just one of many. From impersonation tactics to phishing emails, people try to steal from your information in multiple ways. According to The Identity Theft Research Center (ITRC) Annual Data Breach Report, the United States experienced an astonishing surge in data compromises, reaching a record high–a 72 percentage point hike from the previous all-time high set in 2021. Last year alone, 353 million people were impacted.
Protecting your personal information and finances can be done in several ways. Shane Cummings, Director of Technology/Cybersecurity and Wealth Advisor at Halbert Hargrove, shared tips on avoiding online scammers.
-
Even if you don’t plan to transact online, you should still register for online accounts with your banks. This will plant the flag. Otherwise, a hacker with your information could set up online access and pretend to be you to initiate withdrawals from your account.
-
Don’t respond to text messages regarding financial transactions. Always call your bank or financial institution directly at a phone number that is familiar to you to avoid being duped into giving sensitive account details to a criminal.
-
Ensure your social media accounts are set to ‘private’ so your personal details are not easily searched on the web. We had one client whose identity was stolen after they left for a cruise vacation because hackers knew they were out of town. The savvy ones generally time their attacks to happen when you are least able to respond.
-
It may not seem intuitive, but keeping your computers and mobile devices secure is critical. Keep software up to date and use multi-factor authentication anywhere it’s available. If your smartphone is stolen and a thief locks you out of your accounts, they might be able to reset passwords for your financial institutions and log in to your accounts. Having a multi-factor authentication (MFA) set up could be a lifesaver. Using MFA methods that are more secure than SMS text messaging is strongly preferred.
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Cyber Security Experts Share the Scariest Money Scams They’ve Seen — and How To Stay Safe
