You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place 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 brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page 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 this is properly registered.
