You've come across so much 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 arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
