You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market 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, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
