You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications 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 significant dangers 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 pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
