You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
