You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
