You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
