You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. 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 significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
