You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks 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 online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
