You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned 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 medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
