You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist 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 need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts 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 media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile 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 confirm this is correctly licensed.
