You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
