You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
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 online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
