You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines 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 health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
