You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious 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, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
