You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams 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 social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
