You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
