You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
