You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of 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 much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media 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 lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
