You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
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 website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
