You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
