You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist 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 appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
