You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort 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 properly registered.
