You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present 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, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
