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 in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. 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 “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
