You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
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Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
