You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting 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 take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
