Warning to consumers over ‘Dragons’ Den’ fake diet pills email scam

The scam emails, which have been highlighted by the consumer magazine Which?, attempt to trick recipients into ordering what are purportedly pills called Figur or Liba, claiming that both have been a success story that was featured on the popular entrepreneur programme.

The emails claims that the pills perform “miracles” and that women lose an average of one-and-a-half stone in a single month by using Figur pills, without changing their diet or lifestyle.

At the bottom of the email is an invitation to click a button to “Go to Figur special offer”. Those clicking on the link are taken to another website asking for personal information. Any details entered there will end up in the hands of scammers.

Users are asked for age, gender, current weight and weight the hope to achieve. The page has a countdown clock and fake reviews about the pills. Once those details are added, a purchase page asks for payment details.

Anyone entering these details is giving money to the scammer, with no guarantee that any items ordered will ever arrive.

Suspicious websites such as this may also attempt to steal bank details or download malware on to their devices.

Which? say it has attempted to contact both Figur and Liba, but received no response.

The respected magazine has offered advice on the matter.

Which? said: “If you receive an email advertising a product you’ve never heard of, don’t click on any links.

“In this instance, a quick web search of the product name would show you that it never appeared on Dragons’ Den, let alone gained a huge investment. Additionally, be suspicious of emails containing outlandish claims or trying to rush you into taking advantage of a ‘special’ offer.

“Forward suspicious emails to [email protected] to report them.

“You can report them to your email provider by selecting ‘Report Spam’ on Gmail, ‘Report phishing’ on Hotmail or by forwarding emails to [email protected] from a Yahoo account.”