You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications 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 real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity 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, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, 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 look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
