You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
