You have heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates 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 fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
