You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
