You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, 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 total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
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 cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
