You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing 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, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
