You have come across 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 cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted 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 total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned 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 medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page 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 ensure this is properly registered.
