You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet 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.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
