🔗 Share this article

You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.

But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.

The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a high street 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 fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.

The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.