You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics 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 stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically 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 financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths 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 pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
