You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
