You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
