You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim 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.
