You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
