Scammers' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal 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 slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
