You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
