You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks 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 based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
