You have heard and read so much 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. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
