🔗 Share this article

You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time 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 obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.

The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.

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

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

“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.