You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
