You've come across so much regarding the use of 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 expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
