You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
