You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks 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 internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
