You have come across a great deal regarding the use of 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.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
