You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
