You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time 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 visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product 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 widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths 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 this is correctly licensed.
