You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must 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 go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
