You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.