You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically 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,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
