You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says 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 are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. 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 significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
