The Anatomy of a Weight Loss Scam
It’s annoying to start driving away from a store just to find a pamphlet pinned under your windshield wiper. You have to either shake it loose with the wiper, pass it to yourself with the wiper as you continue driving with half your body out the window or actually stop the car, get out and remove it. Yesterday I found one on my window and, because I’m a good citizen, I stopped the car and removed it by hand. The curiosity was too much for me and I read it. It is the most outrageous, scammy thing I’ve ever seen. It is so scammy in fact that I came right home and started researching it. Here’s a picture of it:
The claim on the flier is “Lose 1-4 inches in less than 1 hour!” I suppose if you’re going to lie you might as well lie big, right. I went to their website (quickfitboulder.com) and read the tripe they’re peddling. The catch, and there’s always a catch, is that you have to attend a seminar to find out what they’re really up to. Well, they aren’t the smartest people because, while I was watching their testimonial videos, one of the ladies in a video let slip the word club lighthouse. Obviously I looked it up. There’s a website titled Lighthouse Health that, not surprisingly, has the same graphics as quickfitboulder and the same wording about “6 fat burning hormones”. What do they sell? You guessed it – Pills! They’re just another pill hawking club scam.
This got me thinking. What is the anatomy of a weight loss scam? Here’s what I’ve got: 7 signs you’re being scammed. Quickfit is 7 for 7.
1. No scientific evidence – baseless claims that sound scientific but aren’t don’t count.
2. Sucks you in before giving you information
3. Claims effortless results.
4. Claims to reduce fat in just one area of your body at a time – belly fat.
5. Claims any sort of previously unknown scientific discovery, A Miracle!
6. Claims a particular ingredient or piece of equipment is the solution to your problems.
7. Requires long term agreements and upfront payment.
I’ve run across scams before. Sendoutcards is a MLM scam that I’m particularly fond of exposing. Products like Alli for weight loss aren’t technically scams; they actually work. The problem is that they work at a price and they don’t work very well. Weight loss scams are among my favorites. People will fall for just about anything when they’re desperate. Acai berry is a scam. Most of us recognize that it is. But, if you’re unhealthy, the wording of an otherwise obvious trap might draw you in. There’s a reason that unethical people keep using the same deceptive techniques. They work! Sure, I can take a few pictures of me with a bottle of pills, post it on a website and start making money off desperate people who think I got in shape with pills. I could sell a crappy pull up bar and say that’s how I did it. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Weight loss isn’t impossible, and it’s not as hard as people think it is, but it still requires work and determination. There’s no escaping that fact.
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Agreed. The road to weight loss may not be easy, but the way to achieve that goal certainly isn’t a “secret.” It involves regular exercise and healthful eating…period. There’s no way around that.
Popping a pill to shed pounds is a frightening idea to me – and it makes me sad that people fall for these kind of scams.
Stephanie´s last blog ..TOP 10 Blog Posts of 2009
Stephanie, You’re right, it isn’t a secret. Unfortunately desperate people do desperate things which usually make no sense and always do no good. I’m sad about it too. I wish I could just stand up and help everyone see the light. But, scams have been around a lot longer than me, so I guess they’re effective.