You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
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, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
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 highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
