You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
