You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, 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 hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters 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 messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
