You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills 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 costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, 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 “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
