You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “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 stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired 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 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 properly registered.
