You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
