You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
