You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
