You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
