You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media 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'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online 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: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals 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 based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
