You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators 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 provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
