You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
