You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority 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 subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
