You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
