You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
