You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority 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 updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
