You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should 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 significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
