You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
