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. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
