You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
