You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks 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 based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
