You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
