You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring 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. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. 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 can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
