You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
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 the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
