You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals 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 medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
