“Ghost Stores” Exploit Weight Loss Craze, Impersonate Experts

Fake online retailers are peddling unproven remedies and using stolen identities, posing a significant health risk to consumers.

Scammers are increasingly targeting Australians seeking weight loss solutions, creating sophisticated “ghost stores” that impersonate legitimate businesses and even well-known health professionals. These operations are aggressively advertising unverified products, raising serious health and financial concerns for consumers.

Stolen Identities and False Endorsements

One alarming tactic involves the use of stolen images and fabricated testimonials. A Facebook page named “Emma Davis,” claiming to specialize in diabetes and weight management, advertised a “GLP-1 plant based oral solution.” The promotion featured AI-generated “before and after” photos and a testimonial from a supposed user named Helen, 68, from Sydney.

The purported effectiveness of these products, which claim to mimic the effects of popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic, is highly dubious. Consumers are being lured by claims of natural hormone stimulation, but the reality is often a lack of regulation and verifiable ingredients.

In a particularly concerning development, dietitian Lyndi Cohen found her image and purported endorsement used by one such site, Maementcurves.com. “My likeness is being abused and misrepresented to promote a product I would obviously not endorse,” Cohen stated, expressing frustration at the difficulty in combating these international scams.

The Rise of the “Ghost Store”

This latest wave of deception follows the earlier exposure of over 140 “ghost stores” masquerading as Australian fashion retailers. Consumer experts warn that these scams go beyond mere financial loss, posing direct threats to public health. The use of fake profiles and reviews, often with images of real individuals, is particularly insidious.

One identified profile, purporting to be a Gold Coast resident named “Isla Taylor,” used the image of Polish war correspondent Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska. “Obviously, the account in question should remove it asap and should not use it again,” Pikulicka-Wilczewska commented after confirming the misuse of her photograph.

The website Maementcurves.com, linked to the fraudulent weight loss advertisements, claimed its products were Australian-made. However, investigations revealed the “STDEI GLP-1 Weight Loss Oral Liquid” is widely available on international platforms like AliExpress and eBay, often sold through similar “ghost store” operations.

Payment for the product was made via PayPal to an entity called Altrix Limited, with potential links to both Hong Kong and a dissolved Welsh company. The website itself is associated with another Hong Kong entity, Lanee Limited, which shares its name with a defunct Welsh firm. As of early August 2025, the specific weight-loss product page on Maementcurves.com was reportedly removed after media inquiries.

Calls for Platform Accountability

Consumer advocates are urging digital platforms like Meta and Shopify, as well as financial institutions, to take greater responsibility. “It is important platforms are penalised for failing to block these fake ads, as they continue to benefit from the harms these ads cause for consumers,” stated Stephen Nowicki, legal practice director at the Consumer Action Law Centre. “In our view banks also have an obligation to identify scam accounts receiving these payments and block or flag them with consumers.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has reportedly received responses from Meta and Shopify following a public warning urging action against these fraudulent ghost stores. However, Meta declined to comment, and Shopify has not provided a response to repeated requests.

The sheer scale of these operations makes individual takedowns a constant battle. “A more systemic approach is what’s needed and it starts with holding digital platforms accountable to take real responsibility for fuelling such profiles in the first place,” said Chandni Gupta, deputy chief executive of the Consumer Policy Research Centre. This situation highlights the ongoing challenge of regulating online commerce and protecting consumers from increasingly sophisticated digital fraud.