You have 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 holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
