You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad 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 will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. 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 appear completely genuine. 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 this is correctly licensed.
