You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go 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 chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products 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 the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
