You have heard and read a great deal 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. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, 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.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
