You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
