You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose 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 legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists 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 fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, 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 internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
