Scammers' Fake Products 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures 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 amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
