You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
