You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic 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 pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
