You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
