Fraudsters' Fake Goods 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
