You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, 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 getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
