You've come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, 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 deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
