You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying 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 solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
