You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. 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 fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
