You have heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions 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 medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
