You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
