You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of 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 with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
