You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in 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 medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
