You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
