You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
