You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, 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 instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL 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, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
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 weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
