As January progresses, many fitness-minded folks are looking to lose that holiday weight and get back on a path of good health. This seasonal excitement lures in countless fitness seekers ready to sign up for gym memberships and personal training services. Unscrupulous scammers are using this rush to prey on unsuspecting people. These fraudsters want to take advantage of everyone with irresistible offers that typically result in financial devastation and identity theft.
New fitness fads are distractions, and scammers often take advantage of these distractions, especially come January, when many are eager to commit to a healthier routine. To recruit their victims, they use a host of different strategies, including advertising on common social media sites, such as Facebook to entice victims. Ads are luring people in with the promise of an immediate deep discount on that gym membership—if you act NOW. This short-term tactic breeds a false sense of urgency.
Tactics Employed by Scammers
The chief aim of these scams is profit, pure and simple. Scammers want to bleed you dry for as long as possible until they vanish. Cybercriminals are not only after your organization’s money, they’re on the lookout for sensitive personal information from your victims. Cybercriminals take advantage of this information to carry out additional fraud.
Marijus Briedis, a cybersecurity expert, explains the dual purpose of these scams:
“The first goal is the money. If they cannot do the money goal, the second part is about the data and to collect as much information as possible.”
These phony ads sometimes even promise highly specific training regimes designed to get you there faster than you ever thought possible. These offers are rarely legitimate. Often, fraudsters replicate what they see in discount holiday scams, so it’s more important than ever for people to be alert.
Warning Signs of Fraudulent Offers
Most importantly, potential victims should be cautious of any offers that push them to make decisions immediately. This holds particularly true for agreements that advertise large savings or deadlines. Briedis urges consumers to be suspicious of these gym promotions.
“Gym offers or training plans that rely on urgency, extreme discounts or pressure to ‘sign up today’ should be treated with caution, especially if there are limited contact details or no independent reviews.”
Furthermore, scammers often create websites that closely resemble those of legitimate gyms, with subtle differences such as replacing the letter “O” with a zero. These subtle changes are difficult to spot by anyone looking to eagerly cash in on a new programmatic gym membership.
Protecting Yourself from Fitness Scams
To protect themselves from being duped by these scammers, Americans should avoid clicking on links in unexpected emails or text messages. Each of these communications are made to look like they’re coming from a fitness brand, gym, etc. Briedis emphasizes the importance of thorough research before committing to any fitness plan:
“The new year fitness rush creates the perfect environment for scams because people are often signing up quickly without taking the time to check who they’re dealing with.”
Further, consumers should be on the lookout with payment methods. Scammers usually ask victims to pay through wire services, making it hard for scammed consumers to get back their money. Instead, using a credit card may provide Section 75 protections, allowing individuals to dispute charges if they fall prey to fraudulent schemes.