You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
