You've come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
