You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
