You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity 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 scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
