The popular weight loss Ozempic is in low supply and high demand even at a cost of almost $1,000 per month if it is not covered by insurance.  As a result scammers are using social media, phishing emails and phony online pharmacy websites to sell worthless phony Ozempic or what they say is generic Ozempic to unsuspecting victims.  Earlier this year the security software company McAfee recently issued a report in which they found 176,871 phishing emails and 449 phony pharmacy websites related to selling phony Ozempic just between January and April.   Scammers also used fake profiles on Facebook and advertisements on legitimate websites to sell their worthless, counterfeit Ozempic.  Often the scammers will try to appear to be Canadian pharmacies.

No generic form of the drug has been approved by the FDA, and what people are receiving may be either ineffectual or even harmful. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has a list of websites selling fraudulent and unsafe medications.  Before even considering buying a prescription drug online, you should see if the site you are considering is legitimate.

In many instances, the scammers ask for payment through cryptocurrencies, gift cards Zelle and Venmo, which are indications of a scam since legitimate businesses do not demand payment in this manner although scammers do because of the anonymity of these payments and the difficulty in stopping the payments.  Some scammers operating these phony websites appear to offer the option to pay by credit card, but when you try to do so an error message appears and you are compelled to pay in one of the methods preferred by the scammers.

TIP

Although it is still technically illegal to purchase prescription drugs from Canada either directly or over the internet, federal officials using enforcement discretion as provided by law generally do not get involved with prescription drug shipments for personal consumption.  The first thing anyone considering ordering prescription drugs from Canada should do is make sure that they are dealing with a legitimate Canadian pharmacy that requires a prescription from an American doctor.  It is easy to research this online.  Any online pharmacy that promises to sell you prescription drugs without your obtaining a prescription is a scam, plain and simple.

Some security software can recognize websites of scammers and are worth getting.

If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/