You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
