You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to 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 arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters 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 located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
