You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through 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 number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. 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 serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
