You've heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures 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 amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
