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 expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at 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 overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
