You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying 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 major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum 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 the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths 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 ensure this is properly registered.
