You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
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 extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
