You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should 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 serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
