You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad 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 spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” 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 purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals 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 based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
