You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, 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 licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. 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. If they claim 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 they are correctly licensed.
