You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” 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.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
