You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
