You've heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present 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 located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
