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 cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications 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, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
