You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
