You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. 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 confirm this is correctly licensed.