You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic 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 buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically 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,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
