You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
