Fraudsters' Fake Products 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
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 Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
