You've heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases 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 set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage 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 using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
