You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company 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 “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained 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 wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
