You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
