You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
