You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities 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. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
