Fraudsters' Counterfeit Goods 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
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 much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must 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 significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage 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 pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.
