You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities 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. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page 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 pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
