You have come across a great deal regarding the use of 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 getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters 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 pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
