You've heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“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
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
