You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
