You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
