You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
