You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
