You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
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 on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
