You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
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 extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
