You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
