You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
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 advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks 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 the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
