You've come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
