You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, 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 scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
