You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
