You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke 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 weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. 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 online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
