You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
