You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel 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 instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently 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 “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided 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 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 ensure they are correctly licensed.
