You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page 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 pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
