You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most 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 brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
