You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page 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 ensure they are correctly licensed.
