You have heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose 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 medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
