You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – 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 such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
