You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired 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 go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
