You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, 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 often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
