You've 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 ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
