You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem 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 with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
