You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to 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 merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, 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 internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
