You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause 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 total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
