You have 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.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few 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 company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts 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 set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, 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 based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
