You've come across a great deal 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.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
