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 ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances 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 impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters 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, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
