You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show 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 related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
