You have come across a great deal 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 instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts 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 recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
