You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double 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 such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
