You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals 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 Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
