You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying 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. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present 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 online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
