You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. 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. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
