You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams 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. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
