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 festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
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 subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, 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 warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
