You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present 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 online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
