Scammers' Counterfeit Goods 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up 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 via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals 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, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
