You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
