You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
