You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
