You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
