You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money 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 led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street 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 scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
