You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
