🔗 Share this article

You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.

The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.

New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.

These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers 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 internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.