You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
