You've heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
