You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
