You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site 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 problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
