You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
