You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
