You've heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing 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 you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
