You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters 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.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
