You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go 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 chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
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 extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
