You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
