You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
