You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers 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 , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
