You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
