You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , 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 skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
