You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “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 total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
