You have heard and read 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.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
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Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
