You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
