You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages 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, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued 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 design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
