You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
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 extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
