It seems like it’s hard to move on social media without some kind of mention of weight-loss injections these days. And, sure, these drugs can have a positive affect for many people, but not all these cases of weight loss are real, nor are the people promoting them who they say they are.
Weight-loss scams have been around for many years. Remember when senators grilled a then-popular television physician called Dr. Oz over his miraculous weight loss claims? That was 11 years ago.
And what would work better than celebrities promoting these scams? In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission posted a warning about scammers impersonating celebrities on social media. That warning was not about weight-loss scams in particular, but you get the drift.
So it was fortuitous timing that I noticed a familiar face in my Facebook friend suggestions.
Scammers, be warned: at some point I get curious and try to figure out what your angle is. So, I put on my best starstruck face and clicked the “Add friend” button.
Jodie must be very desperate to meet a man her own age, because she was quick to accept.
At first, I decided to play the waiting game. In my experience, scammers get to the point more quickly when they are the ones taking the initiative.
But Jodie’s patience outlasted mine and so I sent her a Direct Message to tell her how much of a fan I am and how happy I was she had accepted my friend request.
Apparently she is very busy, and she outlasted my patience again. So, I decided to look at her Facebook profile.
What I found was that her profile gets tagged extremely often. The posts she is tagged in are a mix of explicit content and weight-loss scams. Those include a lot of “before and after” pictures. In some of them the models even seem to be wearing the same clothes.
Weight-loss scams are a common threat on social media platforms like Facebook, and scammers have become increasingly sophisticated in their tactics.
Scammers tag fake celebrity profiles in their posts to increase visibility, hoping fans or unsuspecting users will see, share and click on the posts.
The goal is to sell products like keto supplements, apple cider vinegar gummies, CBD gummies, and many more that will allegedly help you lose weight without exercising and dieting.
The end goal is to ask exorbitant prices for useless products and get victims to pay—preferably repeatedly—for said products. The offers often resort to the fine print hidden under a huge discount that subscribes victims to a monthly plan which is notoriously hard to cancel or get refunds for.
The scammers operating Jodie’s profile like to use a redirect service, hosted at litewo.xyz. The service works similar to a URL shortener except for the fact that most of the URLs are not getting shorter by using it—about as effective as the weight-loss pills they are selling, you might say.
This weight-loss scam focuses on a few countries and has dedicated pages for each language area. The pages in English are all Kelly Clarkson themed.
Kelly Clarkson is an interesting subject for this type of campaign because she spoken publicly about her weight loss, but she didn’t achieve this by using any of the products the scammers are selling. She is also not affiliated with any of these scams, nor is Jodie Foster.
As usual the scammers try to hurry potential customers along by implying that their wonder cure is about to be sold out.
The scammers list the products at unbelievable prices, but the end result will sadly not be what you hope for. If you’re “lucky” you won’t receive anything. If you’re less fortunate you’ll receive some dangerous concoction that could ruin your health.
Avoiding weight-loss scams
Celebrities are well known for their brand collaborations and sponsored content. But to find out whether a celebrity is actually promoting something or if you’re looking at a scam, there are a few pointers you can use:
- Search online for the celebrity’s name plus “scam” and you’re likely to find out that others have fallen for a particular scam.
- Look at an official channel associated with the celebrity and see if the endorsement can be found there.
- Do not get rushed into buying anything.
- Read the fine print. Often this will tell you that you are signing up for a monthly subscription model instead of a one-time payment.
- Research the name of the product the scammers are selling. In many cases you will learn that the name is associated with scams.
- If you have bought one of these products, keep an eye on your financial accounts, because some scammers might use your card for other transactions.
- Use an active security solution that blocks malicious domains.
Malicious domains
Domains we found to be associated with this weight-loss scam campaign:
litewo.xyz (redirect service)
lpuslanocio.com (Kelly Clarkson)
ssusfoeollu.com (Kelly Clarkson)
dauspouexoc.xyz (Kelly Clarkson)
dauswopqclz.xyz (Kelly Clarkson)
cbdefiapa.xyz (German)
cbdefiapa.xyz (German)
dehaoyunlai.xyz (German)
hysokmxy.xyz (Dutch)
blaoewoen.xyz (French)
frpieocoa.xyz (French)
We don’t just report on scans—we help detect them
Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. If something looks dodgy to you, check if it’s a scam using Malwarebytes Scam Guard, a feature of our mobile protection products. Submit a screenshot, paste suspicious content, or share a text or phone number, and we’ll tell you if it’s a scam or legit. Download Malwarebytes Mobile Security for iOS or Android and try it today!
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