You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, 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 impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
