You've come across 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. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
