You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number 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, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing 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, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks 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 Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
