You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, 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 widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur 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.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
