You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers 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.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying 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 online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
