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In today’s digital age, online payment platforms like PayPal have become essential tools for our everyday transactions. Unfortunately, they’ve also become prime targets for cybercriminals looking to steal personal information and money. McAfee Labs has uncovered a concerning trend with a spike in PayPal-related scams, with February 2025 seeing a dramatic seven-fold increase in fraudulent emails compared to January.
While PayPal works diligently to protect its users, scammers are constantly evolving their tactics. The recent surge has been traced to a single, highly effective campaign where attackers send official-looking emails with “Action Required” warnings, demanding users update their account details within 48 hours or face account suspension.
Figure 1. Phishing email example which generated over 600+ emails in a single day
Unlike some scams, which target multiple communication channels, McAfee Labs found that this particular campaign has focused primarily on email.
Scammers use several approaches when impersonating PayPal, including:
Learning to spot these scams can save you from becoming a victim. Watch for these warning signs:
These emails (see below) threatened account suspension or incentivize users, creating urgency to manipulate recipients into clicking malicious links.
Figure 2. While some scams threaten the user with account closures, others incentivize them with payments for surveys
Other common scenarios include fake gift card promotions, phony invoices with unauthorized charges, and bogus billing corrections requiring you to call non-official phone numbers.
Now for the most important part – here’s how you can keep yourself safe:
Remember, cybercriminals rely on creating a sense of panic and urgency to cloud your judgment. Taking a moment to verify communications through official channels is your best defense against these increasingly sophisticated scams. Online protection with McAfee+ will keep you one step ahead of phishing scams.
The post Stolen with a Click: The Booming Business of PayPal Scams appeared first on McAfee Blog.
As pharmacies each week fill more than one million prescriptions for Ozempic and other GLP-1 weight loss drugs, scammers are cashing in on the demand. Findings from our Threat Research Team reveal a sharp surge in Ozempic and weight loss scams online.
Any time money and scarcity meet online, you’ll find scammers. That’s what we have here with Ozempic and weight loss scams.
Doctors have prescribed GLP-1 drugs to treat diabetes for nearly two decades. Demand spiked with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of several GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.
Now, what was a $500 million market for the drug in 2020 stands to clear more than $7.5 billion in 2024.[i] As a result, these drugs are tough to come by as pharmaceutical companies struggle to keep up.
McAfee’s Threat Research Team uncovered just how prolific these weight-loss scams have become. Malicious websites, scam emails and texts, posts on social media, and marketplace listings all round out the mix.
Across all these scams, they offer to accept payment through Bitcoin, Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App. All are non-standard payment methods for prescription drugs and are certain red flags for scams.
Example of a scam website
Also common to these scams: a discount. McAfee researchers discovered several scams that offered bogus drugs at a discount if victims paid in cryptocurrency. Others offered them at greatly reduced prices, well under the $1,000 per dose — the legitimate drug’s cost.
Bogus Craigslist ad
As with so many scams, you can file these Ozempic and weight loss scams under “Too Good To Be True.” Steep discounts and offers to purchase the drugs without a prescription are sure-fire signs of a scam. And with this scam comes significant risks.
These scams can rip you off, harm your health, or both.
In many instances, these scams never deliver. Anything at all. The scam sites simply pocket the money in return for nothing. Further, many steal personal and financial info to commit identity theft down the road.
In some cases, scammers do indeed deliver. Yet instead of receiving an injection pen with the proper drug, scammers send EpiPens loaded with allergy medication, insulin pens, or pens loaded with a saline solution.
One scam victim shared her story with us after she got scammed with a phony pen:
“I started using Ozempic in February 2023, as part of managing my diabetes. At first, it was reliably in stock but when it got more popular a few months later, stock got really low.
Around September, it got really hard to find Ozempic in stock and there was about a month and a half when my mom and I couldn’t find it at all. I mentioned it to a co-worker, who said she had a friend selling it. I was skeptical but did know her friend was connected to the medical industry and the price was only slightly higher than what I’d been paying. It didn’t sound outrageous, so I decided we’d try it. I got the product and gave her the money.
When we opened the box up, it didn’t look or feel right. The packaging felt flimsy and the pen looked quite different from the one we had been using. My mom inspected it and immediately noticed something was wrong. I took photos and videos and with my doctor’s help, we got in touch with a rep [from the legitimate pharma company], who confirmed it was fake. It wasn’t Ozempic, it was an insulin pen.
Realizing that I’d almost injected myself with the wrong substance, thinking it was Ozempic, was terrifying and could have been fatal. It’s really scary to think about what could have happened if we hadn’t done a careful double-check.”
This story frames exactly what’s at stake with Ozempic and weight loss scams. Unlike the bulk of online scams out there, these scams can lead to physical harm — which makes the need to avoid them that much more urgent.
Remember, buying Ozempic or similar drugs without a prescription is illegal. That makes selling these drugs on social media like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or other related sites illegal as well. Further, watch out for foreign pharmacies and sites you’re not familiar with. Per the FDA, they might sell drugs unapproved by the FDA. Likewise, they might be phony.
Only buy from reputable pharmacies. You can check a pharmacy’s license through your state board of pharmacy (this link from the FDA can help you track that down). If the pharmacy you’re considering isn’t listed, don’t use it. Also, make sure it has a phone number and physical address in the U.S.
Watch out for unreasonably low prices. Once again, if an offer is too good to be true, it probably is. In addition, never use a digital wallet app, bitcoin, prepaid debit cards, or wire funds to pay for your prescription. PayPal, Apple Pay, or a credit card payment are typical options for legitimate pharmacies.
Keep an eye out for website errors and missing product details. Scam websites typically lack verifiable product info. Pay attention to and read the fine print. Look for product batch numbers, expiration dates, or manufacturer details to confirm what you’re purchasing is legit. Other sites fail the eye test, as they look poorly designed and have grammar issues.
A poorly written scam on social media…
Look for misleading claims. If any drug offers rapid weight loss or miracle cures, be on guard. Purchasing counterfeit Ozempic poses significant health risks, including exposure to harmful substances, incorrect dosages, and lack of therapeutic effects. In addition to financial loss, you can experience adverse reactions or worsening of your condition by purchasing ineffective or counterfeit medications.
Consider AI-powered scam text protection. Text Scam Detector uses AI to detect and block dangerous links that scammers drop into emails, text messages, and social media messages. Additionally, McAfee Web Protection detects and blocks links to scam sites that crop up in search and while browsing.
Stay vigilant. Scammers create fake profiles across social media channels. Do not blindly trust sellers on Telegram, Craigslist, Facebook, TikTok. Many scammers are using these to run their operations. Don’t believe testimonials either! Scammers use fake testimonials to build trust.
Truly, these scams can cause great harm. They can take a toll on your finances and your health. The good news here is that you can avoid them entirely.
This stands as a good reminder…when something gets popular and scarce, it spawns scams. That’s what we’re seeing with these in-demand drugs. And it’s just as we’ve seen before with popular toys around the holidays and even rental cars during peak periods of travel. Where there’s a combination of urgency, need, and money, your chances of stumbling across a scam increase.
[i] https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/current-events/obesity-drugs
The post How Ozempic Scams Put People’s Finances and Health at Risk appeared first on McAfee Blog.
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