Fraudsters' Counterfeit Goods 'Could Cause Real Harm'
You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring 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 catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
