You've heard and read 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 cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
