You've 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 instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, 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 using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
