You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to 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 people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” 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.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.
