You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
