You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
