You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears 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 licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. 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 correctly licensed.
