You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive 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 established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says 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.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
