You've come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
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 Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
