You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal 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 scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
