TikTok Hosts Dozens of Scammers Peddling
Ozempic and Other Weight Loss Drugs – But the Only Thing Likely to
Get Lighter is Americans' Bank Accounts
WASHINGTON, May 15, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Exploiting Americans' craving for Ozempic, online
scammers are relying on TikTok to dangle easy access to
prescription weight loss drugs to con Internet users and steal
their money, a joint investigation by the Digital Citizens Alliance
and the Coalition for a Safer Web has found.
The three-month investigation uncovered at least sixty
operators, some claiming to be pharmacies or medical professionals,
active on TikTok. These operators offer to ship Ozempic, Mounjaro,
and Wegovy. The sales pitch is enticing. Buyers can get the drugs
without a prescription and can quickly complete the orders using
services such as Zelle, Paypal, or Venmo. But once a would-be buyer
shells out hundreds of dollars, the drugs are never shipped and the
only thing lighter are Americans' bank accounts.
"The moment is tailor-made for scammers to take advantage of
American consumers," said Tom
Galvin, executive director of the Digital Citizens Alliance.
"An estimated one in six people say they take Ozempic or other
weight loss drugs and just as many are considering it. That's a
target-rich environment for criminals and other bad actors. It's
alarming that TikTok allows these scammers to operate so
freely."
The investigation found all the hallmarks of a scam: easy access
to hard-to-get prescription drugs. Quick payments via financial
apps - but only if funds are listed as "friends and family" so it
is more difficult to get refunds. Demands to see the payment
information in hopes of collecting a target's banking information.
And, finally, a ruse claiming that a "holdup in customs" requires
an additional refundable payment.
It's a safe bet that ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owner, doesn't
tolerate similar scams that target users in China using its version of the social media
platform called Douyin. The differences in the experiences have
been compared to "opium and spinach" due to the tight restrictions
that ByteDance places on content that Chinese users see.
The investigation also shines a light on TikTok's role in
helping these scammers find potential victims. Once investigators
searched for weight loss drug sellers on TikTok, the social media
platform's algorithms drove even more sellers their way by
suggesting to follow, or alerting them they were being followed by,
TikTok Channels offering illegal weight loss products.
"It starts with Americans searching on TikTok, then TikTok makes
it so drug peddlers and scammers search and find them," said
Eric Feinberg, Vice President of the
Coalition for a Safer Web. "TikTok's algorithms make it all
too easy for these bad actors to identify and connect
to victims susceptible to the scams that our joint
investigation found."
While this investigation focused on scams, U.S. regulators
should be alarmed by the number of Americans acquiring Ozempic and
other weight-loss drugs without a prescription. A research survey
conducted in conjunction with the investigation found that nearly
half of Americans who acknowledged using these drugs acquired them
without a prescription, either online or from a friend, family
member, or colleague.
TikTok is just the latest social media platform to be slow in
addressing the risks of prescription drugs – whether real or as a
lure for a scam. Google paid $500
million to settle claims it helped illicit actors illegally
market drugs in the United States.
Digital Citizens and the Coalition for a Safer Web have uncovered
numerous instances of drugs being illicitly marketed or sold on
YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
However, given its Chinese ownership, TikTok has faced unique
scrutiny. President Biden, spurred by concerns about national
security, recently signed legislation requiring ByteDance to divest
of the platform or face a U.S. ban. Given its precarious position,
it's shocking that TikTok would allow scammers to operate so
freely.
"Scams and other harmful activities happen right under the noses
of large, publicly traded companies that operate the most
influential social media platforms in the world," added Digital
Citizens' Galvin. "Scamming Internet users shouldn't be easy. But
in this case, TikTok's failure to oversee its platform has made it
so."
"As this report demonstrates, TikTok's conduct poses a threat to
the health and welfare of the public. TikTok is an unregulated
marketplace where illegal drugs are peddled – either to be sold or
used as a lure to scam users. Americans deserve better," said
Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, President
of the Coalition for a Safer Web. "As long as social media
companies are unregulated and left to run wild, consumers will be
exposed to the criminal web marketplace. Policymakers – from
Congress that makes the law to regulators that oversee conduct –
must take online illegal marketplaces seriously to protect the
American people."
To read the full report, go to
https://reports.digitalcitizensalliance.org/ozempic-scams-tiktok.
DCA and CSW shared the channels in the report with TikTok last
week. Soon after sharing the information, the accounts appeared to
be deactivated. However, the research team is tracking more than a
dozen other channels offering weight loss drugs that are still
working as of the publication of this release. Both organizations
will monitor weight loss drug offers on TikTok to see if the
platform addressed the wider problem or simply the accounts noted
in the research.
About Digital Citizens Alliance
The Digital Citizens
Alliance is a nonprofit, 501(c)(6) organization that is a
consumer-oriented coalition focused on educating the public and
policymakers on the threats that consumers face on the Internet.
Digital Citizens wants to create a dialogue on the importance for
Internet stakeholders— individuals, government, and industry—to
make the Web a safer place. Based in Washington, DC, the Digital Citizens Alliance
counts among its supporters: private citizens, the health,
pharmaceutical, and creative industries as well as online safety
experts and other communities focused on Internet safety. Visit us
at www.digitalcitizensalliance.org.
About The Coalition for a Safer Web
The Coalition for
a Safer Web is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) demanding
accountability from social media platforms, government, and
corporations, and bringing together a unified voice to foster
a safer digital sphere. By countering the spread of
dangerous rhetoric, The Coalition For A Safer Web strives to create
real-world change and address the impact of online extremism on
society. To learn more about the Coalition visit the website
at www.coalitionsw.org.
Contact: Adam
Benson, Adam@vrge.us, 2029999104
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ozempic-craze--tiktok--scams-bad-actors-are-dangling-weight-loss-drugs-to-con-americans-out-of-their-money-investigation-finds-302145695.html
SOURCE Digital Citizens Alliance