You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
