You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. 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. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page 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 they are correctly licensed.
