You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds 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 led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to 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 previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. 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.
