You've come across 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 festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads 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 receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
