You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
