You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity 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, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
