You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often 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 recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
