You have heard and read 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 festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
