You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities 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 issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
