You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile 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 medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
