You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch 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 fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
