You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail 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 fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
