You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts 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 communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
