You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state 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 they are correctly licensed.
