Fraudsters' Counterfeit Goods 'Could Cause Real Harm'
You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, 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 using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
