You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers 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.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts 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, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
