You've come across a great deal about people using 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.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage 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 only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
