You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
