You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is properly registered.
