You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths 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.
