You've come across so much about people using 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.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills 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, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks 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 ensure they are correctly licensed.
