You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
