You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase 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 absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired 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 health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
