You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
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 Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
