You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script 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 online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
