Fraudsters' Fake Goods 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You have heard and read so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
