You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
