You've come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
