You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
