You have heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage 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 ensure this is properly registered.
