You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity 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 warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
