You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs 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 buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
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 highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
