You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
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 Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
