You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
