You've come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
