You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw 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. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned 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 can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
