You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company 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 “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
