(WJAR) — Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have become incredibly popular – and scammers are taking notice.
In the beginning of 2025, cyber security company Check Point began tracking a surge in deep fake videos and fake doctor profiles on social media.
Chief Information Security Officer for Check Point Cindi Carter said in many of these posts, scammers are promoting fake GLP-1 weight loss drugs, which they claim are just as effective as Ozempic.
“There’s a huge risk to that, because you don’t know really what it is that they’re going to send you,” said Carter.
An expert said in scammers are promoting fake GLP-1 weight loss drugs, which they claim are just as effective as Ozempic. (Check Point)
One big clue these fake drugs won’t work: they’re not injectable.
“When you look at GLP-1s or semaglutides, like Ozempic or Wegovy-adjacent type prescriptive medicines, those are injectables,” said Carter. “There’s many of these scams that are offering these drops or pearls or in the form of gummies – none of those types of semaglutides or GLP-1s are offered in that format.”
More importantly, it’s not safe to order weight loss drugs advertised on social media.
“Whatever the scammers are manufacturing and sending, you don’t know what you’re getting, so you could actually take a harmful substance,” said Carter.
In addition to purchasing a potentially dangerous product, victims are also handing over payment information to people who can’t be trusted.
Carter said there are a few telltale signs an image or video on social media is a deep fake.
“Their skin looks a little rubbery, and if you look very closely there’s a bit of a rubbery texture to it,” said Carter. “And sometimes their mouth speaking to the voice that’s being spoken doesn’t add up, so you can watch for the words being formed and then listen for the words being formed and it won’t match.”
She continued, “You can also look at things like weird backgrounds – things that appear to be sort of wavy in the background.”
Another important note: If you’ve recently taken one of these knock-off drugs and have experienced negative side effects, you need to call poison control, as well as your real doctor.