You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“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
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. 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 they are correctly licensed.
