You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
