You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
