You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers 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.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
