You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities 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 messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
