You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: 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. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
