You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up 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, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
