You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. 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 total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, 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. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
