You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
