You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage 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 website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
