You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, 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 medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, 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”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist 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 design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
