You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
