You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
