You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
