You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: 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 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 wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
