You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
