You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
