You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
