You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals 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 based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
