You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the 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 rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
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 there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
