You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
