You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued 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 appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
