You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters 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.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
