You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
