You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
