Fraudsters' Fake Goods 'Could Cause Serious Damage'

You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.

But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.

New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, 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. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.

“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage 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 medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.