You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
