You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, 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. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
