You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
