You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through 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 scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation 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, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
