You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
