You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
