You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal 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 which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals 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 located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
