You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. 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 fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
