You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
