You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
