You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
