You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
