You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
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 extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.