Seven Sharp presenter Hilary Barry latest Kiwi star targeted by online weight loss scammers

Hilary Barry is warning fans not to fall for a scam weight loss ad that is being promoted using pictures of her.

Taking to Instagram last night, the Seven Sharp presenter shared two images of sponsored advertisements she has seen on the social media platform warning fans they are fake.

“Just to reiterate – these are scams. They have all been reported but continue to pop up,” she said before adding a cheeky quip.

“I would never sell you weight loss pills – if you saw my gut you’d know I hadn’t shaved 19kg off it,” the presenter joked.

The images shared by Barry are from two accounts, one called Festival Curta Bragnca which shared pictures of ‘Active Keto’ gummies that are said to “burn belly fat like crazy” and used a photo of Barry in her swimwear on the beach, as well as a photo of her with Oprah Winfrey.

The caption of the scam post read, “Experience a wonderful transformation! All thanks to my amazing friend who shared an exceptional weight loss method that helped me lose an incredible 19kg.” Adding, “It was an incredible journey and I could not have made it without their guidance. Thank you Oprah Winfrey for this!”

The second scam post was shared by the fake account ‘FitMart – suitable’ and shared a photo of the TV personality wearing a bright green top along with the caption, “Hilary Barry: I didn’t expect the weight loss to generate so many questions – my inbox is flooded with messages!

“Instead of responding to each message individually, I’ve decided to give an interview on the subject’,” it said before adding a link to a website called finandsys.com.

The Herald has approached Barry for comment.

This is not the first time a major Kiwi star has been targeted by online scammers, other scams have seen Newshub anchor Samantha Hayes has also been targeted this year, as well as Coast star, Toni Street.

Former National MP Paula Bennett was also targeted by a bizarre weight loss scam and a fake Facebook page pretending to be Newstalk ZB’s Kate Hawkesby circulated telling people they’d won a share of $20,000.

Street recently addressed the scams with a post on her Instagram account last month blasting the ads.

Sharing images of scams she had seen online she wrote “Please do not give these people your money,” adding, “I would never promote weight loss gummies.”

The star also pointed out the name of the accounts – one being Abdallah Hossam and the other, Cantanes Juan y Fidelina – writing, “Look at the name of the people trying to sell these to you, that’s the giveaway!”

She was also targeted in April and spoke to the Herald, saying she was outraged by the act.

“It’s outrageous,” the star who champions body positivity and authentic social media content said.

“They’ve stolen, uplifted images, video that I’ve done over many, many years and they’ve doctored my voice into a very unusual English accent that sounds nothing like my own voice and they’ve obviously enhanced a couple of photos to make me look a lot bigger than what I am to show that I’ve lost weight.

“It’s absolutely nothing to do with me.

“I think I’m pretty clear on my Instagram, I’m all about body positivity. I would never be flogging anything that was some sort of quick fix for weight loss.”

In April, Hayes was also targeted by the scammers, confirming to fans with a post on Instagram that the posts were fake.

“For the record, I do not endorse keto gummies. It’s a scam involving some pretty amateur photoshopping. Please don’t buy them,” the 39-year-old said.

Adding, “If you see the ad, please send it to me and please report it. If you check out my posts you’ll see that I don’t endorse or promote any products.

“Thank you to those who got in touch to check with me directly before buying them and brought it to my attention. I appreciate it immensely.”

It comes after a series of online scams last year whereAsk Me Anything podcast host Bennett was targeted in a bizarre online weight loss scam.

A fake Facebook page circulated with photos of the former deputy party leader before and after her gastric bypass surgery.

But the page falsely claimed she used a product called Via Keto, supposedly a “natural product” that offered a “simpler, faster and safer method of losing weight”.

Earlier in the year a fake Facebook page pretending to be Newstalk ZB’s Kate Hawkesby circulated telling people they’d won a share of $20,000.

In 2020, photos of radio host Mike Hosking were used to trick people into falling for cryptocurrency scams.