You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
