You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal 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 slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks 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 based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
