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 in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw 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. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. 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. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
