You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, 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 people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: 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 using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
