You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide 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 whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures 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, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
