You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling 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 certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
