You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to 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 absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. 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 financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
