🔗 Share this article

You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.

Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

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

How It Appears

The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.

These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page 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 ensure they are properly registered.