🔗 Share this article

You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.

Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.

The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.

Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products 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 deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

Most take place 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 posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.

With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks 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 online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.