You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide 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 any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
