You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
