(NewsReady.com) – Ozempic and medications like it have exploded in popularity over the last few years. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the medications to help people who are struggling with Type 2 diabetes lower their blood sugar. The medications aid in weight loss. That desire by people to shed weight has given rise to an increasing number of scams.
McAfee, the security company, revealed its Threat Research Team discovered a massive rise in scams. Bad actors are making millions of dollars off of GLP-1 drugs. In 2020, the market for the medications was only $500 million. In 2024, it will have skyrocketed to more than $7 billion. Demand for drugs has made it hard to keep up, and that has given rise to scams.
In the first quarter of 2024, phishing scams related to Wegovy, Semaglutide, and Ozempic rose 183% compared to the last three months of 2023. Consumers can protect themselves by not contacting anyone pretending to be a foreign doctor on Facebook or other social media platforms and offering prescriptions.
People should also look out for doctors offering no-fuss prescriptions but wanting to be paid through untraceable methods like Zelle, Cash App, or cryptocurrency. Some scammers will even offer discounts to people who pay with one of those methods. If a website doesn’t ask for a prescription, that’s a red flag as well. Ozempic and other drugs of that kind typically cost about $1,000 per dose. Beware of websites or “doctors” offering the drug at a huge discount.
Sometimes the scammers send out drugs that are allergy medications, saline solutions, insulin, or nothing. That can be very dangerous and lead to complications. People should never inject something into their bodies without going to see a doctor in person and having the prescription filled at a legitimate pharmacy with a good reputation.
It’s always good to follow the general rule of thumb: if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
Copyright 2024, NewsReady.com
