You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose 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 resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
