Supplement scams continue to be common online.
Each year, millions are victimized by weight loss diet pill scams, hidden fees, and health supplements that claim to be “miracle” solutions.
Fortunately, consumers can fight back. By learning how these scams work, you can easily avoid them.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently published a list of tips, tricks, and recommendations for avoiding supplement scams in 2022. Keep reading to discover the top 13 best strategies for avoiding weight loss supplement scams in 2022.
Avoid Miracle Weight Loss Supplements that Claim to Work Without Diet or Exercise
Over half of Americans are overweight. Millions more are obese. Most of us could benefit from losing weight and using weight loss diet pills like Exipure.
Unfortunately, many of us are also looking for shortcuts. We want to lose weight without exerting any effort, planning a healthy diet, or spending hours at the gym.
Supplements may claim to help you lose weight without diet or exercise. But that’s not realistic:
The only way to lose weight is by maintaining a caloric deficit. That means you burn more calories than you consume. If you can consistently maintain a caloric deficit, then you’ll lose weight.
There’s no miracle weight loss shortcut. No diet pill will help you lose significant amounts of weight if you’re not willing to eat right or exercise. If a weight loss supplement claims to help you lose weight while allowing you to eat and drink as much as you like without exercising, then it’s a scam.
Endorsed by Dr. Oz and Other Health Experts
If you believe the internet, then Dr. Oz has endorsed hundreds of diet pills over the last decade. However, that’s not the case: although Dr. Oz has discussed certain weight loss supplement ingredients on his show, he rarely endorses specific supplement products – especially when those products are low quality diet pills.
If a weight loss supplement claims to be endorsed by Dr. Oz, The Doctors, or other TV personalities and health experts, then it’s almost certainly a scam.
Featured on Shark Tank
In recent years, we’ve seen a surge of top-rated weight loss supplements that claim to have been featured on Shark Tank.
Shark Tank is the well-known TV show where entrepreneurs present their business ideas to a group of investors. Some entrepreneurs make a deal, while others are left empty-handed.
If a diet pill claims to have been featured on Shark Tank, it could be a scam. Each season of Shark Tank features some supplements. However, it’s rare for a weight loss supplement to be featured on Shark Tank.
Be wary of any supplements that claim to be featured on Shark Tank, especially if the diet pill seems like it’s low-quality or from a disreputable brand.
Many companies market their products as “Shark Tank diet pills.” Some companies even edit images or videos to make it seem like the product was featured on Shark Tank.
A quick Google search will reveal if a product was legitimately featured on Shark Tank or if you’re being scammed. Check news articles. Look at the company’s social media. Find videos of the actual Shark Tank presentation. If you can’t find any real proof the diet pill was on Shark Tank, then you’re probably being scammed.
“Miracle” Products, “Breakthrough” Formulas, and Breathtaking “Discoveries”
If someone created a product that cured cancer, it would be the biggest medical breakthrough of the century.
Some companies claim to have created “miracle” products or “breakthrough” formulas that solve every medical problem, allow you to instantly lose weight, and cure every disease in your body.
As you might expect, these products are mostly scams. Breakthroughs are rare in the supplement space. If a product did solve all of these problems, or if it did suddenly eradicate obesity overnight, you’d hear about the discovery from every major news outlet.
Pharmaceutical Companies and Mainstream Media Trying to Suppress the Product
Some sleazy supplement companies claim that you haven’t heard of their breakthrough product because “big pharmaceutical companies” or the “mainstream media” are trying to suppress the cure.
According to these diet pill websites, big pharmaceutical companies are losing “millions” or even “billions” of dollars because of this new, breakthrough supplement. Because of these losses, “big pharma” and its team of cronies in the mainstream media are trying to take down the website, suppress the diet pill, and keep you from learning the truth.
All of this information is fake. Big pharmaceutical companies are not concerned with supplement companies stealing a chunk of their business. If the mainstream media thought a supplement was important enough to cover, they would cover it. Otherwise, there’s no evidence that “big pharma” is suppressing anything.
Lose 5+ Pounds in a Week or 20+ Pounds in a Month
If you stop eating food today, you might lose 5 to 10lbs by the end of the week. Otherwise, it’s difficult for an average-sized person to lose 5 to 10lbs of fat in a week, or 20+lbs in a month.
Be wary of diet pills that make unrealistic weight loss claims. Even the best fat burners and diet pills won’t let you lose 5+lbs per week, for example – especially without dieting or exercising.
We all want to lose weight quickly and notice immediate change in our bodies. Unfortunately, that’s not realistic. If someone claims to have created a diet pill that leads to rapid, sustainable, and significant weight loss, you’re probably being scammed.
Hidden Fees and Free Trial (Just Pay Shipping) Scams
Some diet pills claim to be available for free online. You just pay shipping, and the company will ship a full-sized bottle of the supplement to your address.
In almost all cases, these free trial offers are scams. If you read the fine print, you’ll realize the company is silently pre-authorizing hundreds of dollars of payments on your credit card. You might pay a shipping fee of just $4.95 per day, for example, but you’re automatically agreeing to pay $60 to $120 after a “7 day trial.”
In many cases, the company charges your credit card before you even try the product. You might receive the product 7 days after ordering it, for example, and then immediately notice your credit card has been charged the full price. There’s no trial period, and you’ve just been scammed.
Some legitimate supplement companies offer free trials and complementary products. However, these offers are rare in the supplement space. Be wary of free trials, and read the fine print before entering your credit card information online. Just make sure you look for the best fat burners on the market if you are going to buy supplements to lose weight in 2022.
Autoship Subscription Scams
When you buy a weight loss supplement online, you generally expect to receive one bottle.
Unfortunately, some diet pill companies use autoship scams to trick you into signing up for a monthly subscription. The order form may look like you’re only buying one bottle, for example, but you’re really signing up for a monthly subscription.
Check the fine print before entering your credit card information online. Look for additional fees or hidden charges.
Proprietary Formulas and No Ingredients Label
One of the best weight loss tips one can part ways with is to know everything you are getting into upfront. You should never buy a supplement without seeing the ingredients label.
All reputable supplement companies disclose their ingredients, dosages, and ingredients label upfront. It’s the best way to compare supplements to one another.
Good companies invest in high-powered formulas. They want to advertise their strong dosages to the world. If your supplement does not disclose its ingredients label upfront, then it generally means:
- The company is hiding ingredients within the formula
- The supplement has low dosages that the company does not want to disclose upfront
In either case, the supplement is not worth the price. If you cannot find an ingredient label before buying a supplement, then you should not buy that supplement.
Low Dosage Supplement Scams
Some supplements contain all of the right ingredients – but at the wrong dosages.
A good diet pill might contain fiber, turmeric, B vitamins, and caffeine, for example, to increase fat burning and help you lose weight.
However, there’s a big difference between a high-powered diet pill with the right balance of ingredients and a poor-quality diet pill with poorly balanced ingredients.
Some diet pills contain excessive levels of caffeine, for example, to trick you into thinking the diet pill is working. You feel a surge of energy after taking the diet pill and assume it’s because of the ingredients. In reality, you’ve just taken the equivalent of 3 or 4 caffeine pills.
Other diet pills use proprietary formulas to hide low dosages. The company might list a proprietary formula with several rare ingredients and other cheap ingredients. The proprietary formula does not disclose specific dosages. In reality, 99% of the proprietary formula consists of cheap ingredients (like fiber and caffeine) while very little consists of expensive ingredients (like antioxidants, fruit extracts, or herbal extracts).
Check the ingredients label before you buy. Compare the dosages to the dosages used in scientific studies. Be especially wary if a diet pill contains an unlisted dose of caffeine. Caffeine is deadly in high doses, and all reputable diet pills disclose their caffeine dosage upfront for maximum safety.
Don’t Trust Google Search Results
Googling a diet pill before you buy is a great way to avoid being scammed. However, don’t trust everything you read on Google, even if they are from reputable media publications like LaMag.com for Exipure.
Today, scammers are aware that most people Google diet pills before they buy. Google search results may be filled with articles reinforcing the benefits of the scammy diet pill. You might find guides explaining the weight loss benefits of the diet pill, for example, and fake reviews explaining how the diet pill works.
It’s important to Google supplements before you buy them. However, don’t immediately assume all information on Google is trustworthy.
Fake Clinical Trial Scams
It’s rare for a nutritional supplement company to invest in clinical trials. Some of the highest-quality supplement companies (or companies with the best funding) invest in clinical trials. But even these trials tend to be small (involving, say, 15 to 50 people).
Clinical trials are very expensive. By law, clinical trials must meet certain quality standards. You can’t test products on humans without meeting these standards.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen a growing trend of companies claiming to have conducted clinical trials when they have not actually completed a clinical trial. The company might claim that 99% of people lost weight in their clinical trial, for example, yet does not disclose any information about the clinical trial, its participants, the control group, or where the trial took place or was published.
Fake Review Scams
Fake reviews are as old as the internet. However, they’re still common today, even among the best appetite suppressants and metabolism boosters.
A scam diet pill website might be filled with reviews from happy customers who claim to have lowered their blood pressure, cured all diseases, and lost 50lbs by taking the miracle pill.
Unfortunately, 93% of online diet pill reviews are fake. Even if a reviewer leaves a before-and-after photo, it’s likely this photo was stolen from social media.
Some companies even Photoshop their diet pills in the hands of consumers, making it look like thousands of people are taking selfies with the diet pill. In reality, it’s all a big scam.
Final Word
The best way to avoid weight loss supplements scams in 2020 is to:
- Google all supplements before you buy and look for legitimate news websites or medical journals discussing the supplement.
- Look for an ingredient label that discloses all doses and ingredients upfront. If you can’t find one, avoid buying the supplement.
- Read the terms and conditions carefully to avoid hidden fees, autoship scams, and free trial scams.
If you can do these three things, you can avoid 99% of all weight loss supplement scams that appear online today.
Affiliate Disclosure:
The links contained in this product review may result in a small commission if you opt to purchase the product recommended at no additional cost to you. This goes towards supporting our research and editorial team and please know we only recommend high quality products.
Disclaimer:
Please understand that any advice or guidelines revealed here are not even remotely a substitute for sound medical advice from a licensed healthcare provider. Make sure to consult with a professional physician before making any purchasing decision if you use medications or have concerns following the review details shared above. Individual results may vary as the statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
