Scammers' Counterfeit Products 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
