You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
