You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
