You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
