You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “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 slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
