You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
