Scammers' Counterfeit Products 'Could Cause Real Harm'
You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
