You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding 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 that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
