You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
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 website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
