You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
