You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
