You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
