You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications 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 scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities 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 medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
