You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, 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 deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present 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 located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
