You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
