You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
