You've heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
