You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned 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, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.