You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
