You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant 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. 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 look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
