You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
