You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
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 warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
