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 there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. 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 confirm this is correctly licensed.
