Almost got scammed on Instagram - sharing so nobody else falls for it — 6 month update

I want to add data to support this checklist. I tracked 30 vendor reports from this forum over the past 12 months: - Vendors hitting 0-2 red flags: 0/8 turned out to be scams (0%) - Vendors hitting 3-5 red flags: 4/11 turned out to be scams (36%) - Vendors hitting 6+ red flags: 11/11 turned out to be scams (100%) The checklist WORKS. Three or more red flags should trigger extreme caution. Six or more and it's essentially guaranteed to be a scam.

Pharmacist adding a professional perspective: every single one of these red flags would also apply to illegal online pharmacies selling prescription medications. The scam playbook is the same whether they're selling fake Ozempic pens or bunk research peptides. One additional red flag I'd add from the pharmacy world: - [ ] No requirement for any health information or screening questions. Legitimate compounding pharmacies (even those operating in gray areas) will typically ask about allergies, current medications, and medical conditions. A vendor that asks zero questions doesn't care about your safety.

This needs to be in the wiki permanently. The number of "is [vendor] legit?" posts we get daily would drop significantly if everyone read this first. would you be willing to maintain this as a living document? We can pin it and link to it from the new member guide.

Absolutely. I'll update it monthly as new scam tactics emerge. These scammers evolve and we need to evolve with them. Everyone: if you encounter a new tactic not on this list, comment below and I'll add it. The more comprehensive this checklist becomes, the harder it is for scammers to operate. Stay vigilant. Test everything. Protect each other.