You've heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
