Medications with promises of significant weight loss are taking the world by storm.
Dr. Sajani Shah, Chief of the Weight and Wellness Center at Tufts Medical Center, agrees.
“It’s all over social media, it's the hottest thing in terms of weight loss,” said Dr. Shah. “There's definitely a frenzy with these medications and with good reason, because they work.”
Due to the popularity of injectable weight loss prescription medications, there are shortages. And when there is demand, there are usually scammers lurking.
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The Better Business Bureau in Boston has seen an uptick in scams targeting people who are trying to find the drugs online. The websites can look nearly identical to the drugmaker’s sites. Victims are making payments but never receive the product.
“They are falling victim to prices that are too good to be true. Promises of significant weight loss that might not be the exact medication that you think you are purchasing,” said Paula Fleming, a spokesperson for the BBB.
Some scam websites claim to be online pharmacies that carry the medication at a reduced price. The BBB warns that if the only payment option is through a digital wallet app, it’s a scam.
“A lot of people think it's just a quick way of making a transaction,” said Fleming. “Once it's gone, it's very difficult to get back and there's no guarantee you're going to receive that product.”
In some cases, consumers have lost more money when the scammers claim they’ve encountered a shipping problem and ask for an additional payment.
“And then people, unfortunately, provide the extra credit card information and they get fees taken out and then they're left empty handed in the long run.”
At Tufts, Shah tells us it’s been challenging getting these weight loss medications into the hands of her patients. She’s very concerned about people shopping for them online.
“They'll talk to their friends or people even on Facebook, and they’ll create these groups and somebody will say, 'oh yeah, I got it online at this website,'" said Shah. “And then when you go to see where they're getting it from, they're getting mailed in from Canada or outside the United States -- without even seeing a doctor.”
Shah tells us some people go online when insurance won’t cover the cost -- which can be up to $1,500 a month.
“When they're on social media… they're like ‘OK, fine, great.’ It's the desperation and the need to want to get their health in order to lose weight.”
She urges anyone interested in losing weight to go through the proper channels, see a doctor and get your prescription medication through a pharmacy.
“You don't know where you're getting these medications – if you get them at all – how they're being processed, if they're sterilized, and you can become very sick,” said Shah. “You have to be really careful because things, especially that you inject into yourself, you could have a very detrimental effect on your health.”
