You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice 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”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
