You have heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
