You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers 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, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
