You've heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. 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 this is correctly licensed.
