You've come across a great deal 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 festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
