You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time 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 pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
