You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
