You have heard and read so much about people using 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 instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site 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 they are correctly licensed.
