You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
