You've heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
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 located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
