You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
