You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, 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 sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, 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 media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
