You've heard and read so much about people using 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 cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
