🔗 Share this article

You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.