You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
