You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. 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 similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating 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 affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“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, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications 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 serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
