You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector 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.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
