You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating 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 fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
