You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present 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 the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
