You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts 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 set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
