You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
