You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. 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 scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose 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 Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
