You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “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 customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
