You have 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 holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills 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 sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
