You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
