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 try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, 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 media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears 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. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
