You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears 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 much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
