You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes 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 brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
