Scammers' Fake Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose 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 internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
