You've come across so much 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 holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
