You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must 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 significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
