You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose 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 online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
