You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
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Like any deceptive scheme, 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 via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths 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 website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
