You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
