You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds 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 imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, 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 based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
