Scammers' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause 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. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. 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,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
