You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters 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 Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
