You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
