Better Business Bureau is ringing in 2021 with tips to help people avoid falling prey to overstated weight-loss advertisements and scams.
The desire to get in shape or lose weight fast creates a risk of being deceived by products that do not work as advertised, come with a host of unwanted side effects, or cause weight gain instead. Any time you see miracle claims for weight loss, be very skeptical. There is no such thing as a ‘secret ingredient’ or ‘breakthrough formula’ that can result in weight loss virtually overnight.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted in an October 2019 report that more consumers fell victim to scams involving fraudulent weight loss products in 2017 than to any other type of fraud included in the survey. According to the report, victims of weight loss scams made up 2.6 percent of the survey participants, representing 6.5 million U.S. adults. Promotions advertising “miraculous” weight loss products and promising immediate results should be viewed as potential scams.
