You've heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
