You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills 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.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often 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 fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
