You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
