You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. 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 fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently 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” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online 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 applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
