You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. 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 ensure they are correctly licensed.
