Fraudsters' Fake Products 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time 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. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds 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 increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines 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 wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.
