You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive 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 popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
