You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
