You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says 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.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
